The Squared Circle of Life
by Banshi13
Summary: Set in 1999, at the height of the Attitude-Era, one prominent wrestler and his daughter will share the joys and hard ships of making it in the business and in life. If you review, I will write! SCSA, The Ministry, Shane, Vince, and others!
1. A New Introduction

1Disclaimer: This is set during the days of the Ministry of Darkness, just to give everyone a time line to go by. I'm taking some severe liberties with the storylines of that time, however I don't believe that it will be too unthinkable. I'll still keep with the traditional baby faces and black hats, but tweak things here and there. There will need to be, as we say in theatre, a willing suspension of disbelief, meaning that there are going to be some things that are going to make the readers go, 'huh? That doesn't make any kind of sense'!

The setting of this story is just after Stephanie McMahon's 'Black Wedding'. After that moment, DISCARD EVERYTHING YOU'VE SEEN AFTERWARDS. Things are going to take a little change. Some things will stay the same, but there will be differences, obviously because I'm adding a character that will make those changes happen.

Also, when you see this: **WWF, **this means, for lack of a better term, Real Life. When you see this: _**WWF**_, it means WWF Life, again, for lack of a better term.

I love reviews, but laugh off flames, and if they're incredibly humorous (as I put it), I report them.

As always, any wrestlers or other characters you see in here, with the exception of Jaina Austin, are the property of the now WWE and their respective employees. I'm making no money off this, Vince, so please don't sue! I got no monies anyway. (Yay working college student!)

**WWF**

It was really an amazing thing. She'd been a part of the wrestling world for all her life, and then not a part of it. Now, at 23 years of age, her father had finally relented and allowed her to have a more in depth view of what he did every day.

Jaina Austin was a smart girl, a tough girl. She'd just graduated the previous fall from Texas A&M university with a BA in Creative Writing, minoring in British studies, but all through out her four years at university, all she could think about was joining her father on the road. She watched him on television since she was a little girl, from his WCW days to his infamous run now in the WWF. It was on the day of her graduation that her father had allowed her to broach the possibility of her coming on the road with him as a serious option.

Steve had never liked the idea of his daughter getting involved in his business. Entertainment or not, it was a dangerous occupation. There were storylines and fixes in the matches, but it didn't make the physical aspect of wrestling any less demanding. When Steve got hit, it hurt, and when he hit the mat, it hurt even more. His body was used to it after all these years, but Jaina had little to no training in that field.

So, he breathed a big sigh of relief when Jaina told him that for right now, she didn't want to wrestle. Maybe some day, but not now. For the present time, she just wanted to be involved in a story line, preferably with him, and if she had to get a little physical she would, but nothing to the degree that other women did. That may have been what the fans wanted to see, but that wasn't what Jaina wanted to do.

With that understanding between father and daughter, Steve had set up a meeting with himself, Jaina, and Vince McMahon to see how they could fit her in. They'd flown up to Connecticut to meet with the famous owner, and the meeting had taken off without a hitch. With Jaina's subtle southern accent (which Vince was surprised about), her youth and vitality, and of course, soft, attractive face with bright blue eyes and dazzling smile, Mr. McMahon was more than willing to work her in. "She'll be a breath of fresh air to RAW," he'd commented, "I've just brought Stephanie into the storyline. It might be a good change of pace for the fans to see not all the women of the WWF are wrestlers or sex kittens; no offense to you of course, Jaina."

And that had been it. Four weeks from that day, and now Jaina was walking along the halls of The Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas. It was important to her that she make her debut in what she considered to be her home down. Of course, Victoria was her dad's home town, but while Jaina loved the quiet and peace of the country, she was a city girl at heart, and could easily flow between the two.

She allowed herself a small grin, looking around. So far, she'd stayed in the back locker room area's as she didn't want to get in the way of the crew setting up for that nights show. It was going to be live, not taped, and Jaina couldn't get the butterflies out of her stomach.

It simply couldn't get any better than this.

"Jaina!"

The girl spun around, her grin becoming a full blown smile as her father caught up to her. "Damn, girl, I turn my back for one second and you're all over the place," Steve put his arm around her shoulders, "c'mon, Jay, it's not like you've never been here before."

"I know, but I've never been here before as a part of the WWF." She wrapped her arms around her fathers waist and hugged him tightly. "Thanks for letting me do this, Dad."

"You know there's nothin' I wouldn't give my baby girl if I could. You've been wantin' to do this for...well, I guess since you started walkin'." He poked her nose. "You've just gotta remember that this ain't all fun and games. It's work, painful work. I know for right now you're just gonna be goin' to the ring with me, but if things get outta hand, you've gotta keep your head on your shoulders. Alright?"

Jaina nodded. She knew how uncomfortable this made her father, and she was willing to do what it took to put his mind at ease. Besides, it wasn't like she was totally defenseless. She was the daughter of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Was there anyone around the WWF that seriously believed she didn't know how to throw a good punch?

**WWF**

Cookies. Chips. Coffee. Water.

In short, the usual.

Shane looked at the cart in disappointment. His flight had come in early in the morning, and because of meetings with his father and the writers, he really hadn't had a chance to have more than an egg biscuit and an orange juice from the local McDonalds. It was now around lunch time, and his stomach was growling.

And not for anything that was on that table.

However, he resigned himself to his fate and took a water and a bag of chips. At least until this last meeting was over, that would tide him over. He made his way back to his 'office' and let himself in, taking the time to actually sit down and have some peace for a few minutes before his next meeting. His father had asked him to take one of his appointments due to a last minute scheduling conflict for next weeks show that he needed to work out. It was supposed to be a short one, which was good, because immediately afterwards, Shane was getting in his rental car and going in search of real food.

He glanced at his watch; 1:43. Two minutes was all that stood between him and a steak. Or a rack of ribs. The food was one of the things that Shane loved when he came to San Antonio. Texans took their barbeque seriously, and who was Shane to stick his nose up at a rack of baby backs?

And then, there was the sound he'd been waiting for, the knock at the door. "Come in," he called, sitting up in his chair and wiping his hands of the crumbs from the chips. He glanced up as his appointment walked in. The last time he'd seen her was about a year and a half ago, but boy did she do a lot of growing in that time.

"Jaina," he stood up and held out his hand, "good to see you. I hope you don't mind, my dad asked me to take this meeting. Scheduling conflicts and all that."

"Oh no, that's fine," Jaina replied, shaking his hand firmly, which took Shane slightly by surprised. "That's a strong grip you have there," he complimented, ushering her into her seat, then sitting back down.

"Well, I have been working out," she joked, "no, seriously, I've been pestering my dad to let me do this for years. I figured when I finally got the chance I should be in the best shape I could."

"That's for sure," Shane agreed, "so, about tonight, you've been given the story line and the script, right?" Jaina nodded her head in an affirmative. "And you're comfortable with it?" Jaina nodded again, this time answering. "Yea, it seems pretty straight forward. I'm glad that things start popping tonight with the story line and everything though."

"Ah, a bit impatient are we?" Shane chuckled, to which Jaina only smirked. "I don't like waiting around for the punch line, if that's what you're asking."

"Oh boy...two Austins; what are we to do with two of you running around the WWF now?" Shane stood up. "Well, that was pretty much all the meeting was about, just making sure you were comfortable with everything. Did you have any questions?"

"Actually, yea, I did have one."

Shane nodded at her to go ahead.

"There's something in the lines tonight about me meeting up with the Undertaker in one of the segments, but it doesn't really give off anymore than that. Is that just a camera shot or am I supposed to be a little nervous or him a little menacing or what?"

"The infamous improv," Shane nodded his head in understanding, standing up and coming around to lean against his desk, "the thing is, unless we give you actual lines, you're pretty much free to do what you want, within reason of course. Obviously, you're not going to launch yourself at Taker and be in a match with him next week."

Jaina snorted. "I hope not."

"Me too. No, you can work that with him however you want. I will say that because you two are on opposite sides, with him being the heel with the Ministry of Darkness right now, it's probably a good idea that you don't talk about exactly how you'll react with each other. Undertaker is not a happy guy right now since Stone Cold rescued Stephanie from him last week, so you're natural reaction to some guy who wants to kick your fathers ass is, well, I hope, not a good one." He crossed his arms over his chest and thought for a moment. "You're in the unique position of already knowing what side your on. Most entertainers get put into a position of sides after their first few months on the circuit. So..."

"Got it. Dad good, Undertaker bad and scary." She stood up, but as she did, she heard the distinct sound of an unhappy stomach in the vicinity and looked at Shane, slightly surprised. He smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that," he tried to cover, "I haven't really had much today. In fact, I was just about to go grab something to eat."

Jaina stood up. "That reminds me, I should probably grab something now before it picks up. I'm excited now, but I'll be too nervous later to eat anything." She saw Shane glance at his watch, then he looked back up at her. "Well, we've got time. How about I take you out for lunch? It'll give us sometime to catch up with each other and talk about the storyline more if you want."

"That sounds great. Just let me grab my father and tell him where I'm going." Shane nodded his head, walking forward and opening up the door for her. "You haven't lost your gentlemanly touches I see," she teased him. Shane was quite the chivalrous one. Vince McMahon may have been a pretty good heel on screen, but off, it was clear that he'd raised both of his children well. Jaina had always thought that Stephanie was quite the lady, and Shane...well, Shane had always been the gentleman.

"Nope. Never have, never will." Shane walked with her toward her fathers locker room. "So, how's your dad taking all this?"

"He's, you know..." Jaina scratched the back of her head, "he wishes I would have just gone to graduate school or gotten another job, but he also knows how much I've wanted to do this. He doesn't normally show it, but he's nervous about me being out there, being in this business with him."

Shane shrugged. "It's a tough gig. You're dad's one of the best, but the only reason for that is because he's been at the top and at the lowest of the low. To tell you the truth, if I ever have daughter, I'd be nervous about her being involved in wrestling too."

"But you and Stephanie were raised in this business, your father built it into what it is today," Jaina argued, "how could you not want them to be a part of something your family created from scratch?" She saw Shane shrug again. "I didn't say I wouldn't want her involved, just that I'd be nervous about it. That would be my little girl, hell, she could be your age and she'd still be my little girl. I imagine that's what Steve's thinking about right now."

"That's very true," Jaina laughed, turning a corner and knocking on her fathers locker room door. When she heard his voice, she opened the door and poked her head in. "Hey Dad, you mind if I go grab some lunch?"

Steve looked at her, slightly perplexed. "Jaina, you're 23 years old, you don't need my permission to eat." He looked over her shoulder, eventually seeing Shane standing behind her. Jaina rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming next. "Actually, I take that back. You do need my permission to eat, especially with a member of the opposite sex."

"Jeez, what happened to being 23?" She joked, stepping into the locker room. Shane hung out near the door. He didn't have to be told how protective Steve was over his only daughter. There had been plenty of times when some of the other wrestlers had hit on her, and that hadn't made Austin very happy, and he'd let everyone know it.

"Dad, it's just lunch. We'll be back soon. Plus, I haven't really eaten much today, and if I'm going to eat, I'd better do it now before I throw up all over the arena tonight from nervousness."

Steve groaned inwardly. This was the only thing about father hood that he didn't like; watching other men go out with his baby girl. He knew Shane, in fact, he actually thought Shane was alright, but he would never admit that. No one was good enough for his daughter. "This is how it starts," he muttered, realizing that Jaina was now standing in front of him, "first it's 'oh, it's just lunch, daddy,' then it'll turn into, 'oh, it's just dating, daddy,' and before I know it, I'm a grandfather." Jaina snorted, shaking her head. "S'not like that Dad, I'm just hungry, and Shane happens to be hungry as well, and he invited me out for lunch to catch up and talk about the story lines. We won't come back married or anything like that, we've only just seen each other for the first time in a year and half."

Steve clicked his tongue, then looked at Shane, pointing at him, "You invited her, so you're payin' for her." Shane held up his hands. "Wouldn't have it any other way." Steve grunted and nodded slightly. "Alright. Remember, you've gotta be back here at 6pm so we can go over our lines. It's central time here, so we start at 8pm."

"I know, Daddy." Jaina gave her father a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be back by then, don't worry." She turned and headed out the door, walking past Shane.

"Steve, did you want me to bring you back anything?" Shane asked. Austin just looked at him. "My daughter safe and sound would be a good idea," he finally answered. Shane's knee jerk reaction to someone else who would have said that would be to roll his eyes, but he was not a stupid man. "I meant more in the way of food, but really, you don't have to worry. We'll be back before you know it. You know I wouldn't do anything that was un-gentleman like."

"Yea," Steve waved him off, "just a bit different with her around here, working with me, working for you, that's all."

"I understand," Shane nodded, "so, did you want us to bring you back something, or are you okay?"

"Nah, I'm good. Just be sure you treat my daughter like a lady, and we won't have any problems." Steve looked Shane in the eye.

"You have my word." Shane knocked on the door panel once, then left the room, going after Jaina, who was waiting at the end of the hall. "Yeesh, he really gave you the riot act," Jaina smiled lightly at him, "I'm sorry about that, he's just really protective of me is all. It wouldn't matter if I were going to lunch with a gay guy, Dad would still grill him. He didn't make you too uncomfortable, did he?"

"No, but I'm sure that if something happens to you while you're with me, I have a stunner coming my way, and not a staged one either," Shane chuckled, "does he think you're going to marry every male friend you go out to dinner with?"

"Yes," Jaina answered simply. Both of them laughed as they headed toward the back lot where the WWF employee's parked their cars. "Where to?" asked Shane as he opened Jaina's door for her.

"There's actually a really good restaurant on the river walk if you feel like going there," Jaina got in and Shane shut her door, walking around and settling into the car himself, "it's called Boudros, it's not very far from here, actually. It's a bistro type setting with all kinds of food; they have this amazing prime rib there and their ribs are always good."

"Then Boudros, it is." Shane turned the engine over, glad that it covered the rumbling of his stomach.

**WWF**

"Hey, Mark, can I talk to you for a second?" Austin found Mark Caloway out near the ring talking to one of the crew members. Many people thought that the wrestlers stayed in their own circles, but that was far from the truth. Every single time a ring was set up, the wrestlers put their very lives in the hands of the ring crew. It was because of them that the ring was set up every night and it was set up right. If the ring were put together incorrectly, it was very possible that one of the performers could be hurt because of it. The crew and the wrestlers were close, and it had always been like that. Without the ring crew, there would be no ring.

Caloway excused himself from his conversation and walked over to Austin, taking the mans hand in greeting. "Steve, how ya been?"

"I'm a little on edge tonight as ya may imagine, Mark," the Texan answered, "I got my baby girl with me, and not just to watch this time. She's involved with this storyline with you and the ministry and that's got me just a little bit worried about her safety, if ya know what I mean."

"I understand, Austin." Mark did understand; he had kids of his own, and while none of them were involved in the wrestling world, he worried about their health and safety every day of his life. "You know I can't guarantee that she won't get hurt out there, but I will make sure that everyone in the ministry knows she's off limits. They'll yell at her, and they'll use you to taunt her, but the most they can do is grab her and hold her; no sleepers or tombstones or anything like that."

"And if one of 'em goes over board?"

"They'll answer to me. Personally. It's not in the script yet, not until she learns how to take blows and falls and all that. Plus, it'll mess up the storyline." Mark looked Steve directly in the eye. "You and I have known each other a long time, Steve. I'm not gonna tell you not to worry, cause that's not gonna happen, but I am gonna tell you that I'm gonna do everything in my power and the storyline, to keep her from getting hurt. But honestly, she's just gonna be escorting you to the ring. Unless someone decides to take the writing in their hands, no one's gonna touch her. It's introduction night; I don't foresee anything happening."

All Austin could do was nod his head. There was only so much threatening and intimidation he could do before he had to succumb to the fact that his daughter was a grown woman and could take care of herself. "Alright," he finally said, looking around the arena. "We sold out tonight?"

"We're in Shawn Michael's hometown, of course we're sold out tonight," Mark answered, rolling his eyes. "By the way, where is Jaina?"

"She's out to lunch. With McMahon."

Mark arched an eyebrow. "She's out with Vince?"

"No. Shane offered to take her to lunch so they could catch up." Austin stuck his hands on his hips. He still wasn't happy about that, and he didn't really give a damn if he was over reacting. Shane had a reputation of being a ladies man, and while that was all fine and good with the other women, it wasn't alright for his daughter.

"Now that, I'll tell you not to worry about." Mark nodded his head as Steve looked up at him in surprise. "You're gonna tell me not to worry about that?" Austin was beside himself, and he was even more surprised when Mark nodded his head. "How are you gonna tell me not to worry about that? You know Shane's reputation with the women around here, I don't want him gettin' any ideas about my little girl."

Mark rolled his eyes. "You really think Jaina's gonna let Shane treat her like some trophy? I've seen the girl punch, and _I_ wouldn't want her to hit me. And I gotta tell ya, I haven't seen Shane with a girl in a long time. It's like he's put his whole life into his work these days."

"You think I care about that? Just cause he's not with one right now doesn't mean he's changed his ways. He's an alright guy for everyone else, but for my Jaina, he don't hold a candle to what she deserves." Austin felt himself becoming ever more tense. He didn't care if everything was platonic between his daughter and Shane; that was fine. He just didn't want it getting any further than that.

"Austin, I don't think there's a man on the planet that you think could hold a candle to your daughter. That's the problem with us fathers, we never wanna let go of our girls." Mark clapped his friend on the back. "I got some stuff to do, but if you wanna come by later and get the whole storyline from my angle, we can do that."

"Yea, that'd be good." Austin watched his friend walk away, quietly mulling over his decision. If this was what Jaina wanted to do with her life, he knew, one way or another, he was going to have to accept it.

But he didn't have to like it.

**WWF**

"So, what have you been doing with yourself?" Shane asked, taking a sip of his wine. They'd just ordered their food at Boudros and were now relaxing, each with a glass of wine.

"Well, I just graduated from Texas A&M this past fall, thank God," Jaina took a sip of wine, getting comfortable in her booth, "and Dad promised me that after I got my degree we could have a serious discussion about me joining the WWF."

Shane chuckled. He could just imagine the delight that Austin must have felt when that day came. Jaina didn't miss the irony in Shane's laugh, but she had to agree with him. "Yea, he was thrilled. But we had an agreement, and if there's one thing about my Dad, it's that he honor's all his agreements."

"Well, we're glad to have you," Shane raised his wine glass to her and took another sip, "you've come in at just the right time in my opinion. There's a really amazing storyline happening right now, and with my sister being at the center of it, and you joining her pretty soon, it's really going to blow the fans away. I don't think I could have planned it any better myself."

"Actually, I think it was your father who planned this whole thing," Jaina smirked, watching Shane put a hand to his heart as though he were hurt. "Never let it be said that Jaina Austin can't wound a man with words."

"Well, I hope that Jaina Austin can wound a man with more than just words," she retorted.

"You know, there's always something I've wanted to ask you," Shane sat back, folding his hands on the table, "you were born in Texas."

Jaina nodded.

"You've lived here all your life."

She nodded again, not understanding where Shane was taking the conversation.

"I know a lot of Texans, but I swear, you have the lightest southern accent I've ever heard of any Texan in my life." He was rewarded with a sweet giggle from her, and he couldn't help the upward tug of his lips at the sound of her voice. "My dad took me on the road a lot when I was a little girl, you know that. I mean, I was in Texas a lot when I was little too, but I got the experience of hearing a bunch of different people talk so..." she shrugged, holding the wine glass up to her lips. "I guess that's that story."

"I gotta say though..." Shane stumbled in his words for a moment, trying to find the right way to compliment her without sounding like he was coming onto her. "The last time I saw you, you...well, you didn't look like you do now." He finished, somewhat lamely. He saw the confusion on Jaina's face, but before he could amend his statement, Jaina spoke up.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

The look on her face was an innocent one, one could even call it sweet. She kept her eyes on his face as she took another sip of wine, waiting for him to answer her.

"It's a great thing. I just...well, the last time I saw you, you were wearing sneakers and jeans with a t-shirt, and now I see you and you're wearing make up, you've got your hair done...you have heels on. It's just strange to see that's all."

Just then, the waiter came with their appetizer, spinach artichoke dip, and two plates, setting one in front of each of them and placing extra napkins between the two plates. "Is there anything else I can get you?" Shane finished the last of his wine and held up the glass. "May we have the bottle, please?" He asked, knowing that he and Jaina would be at the restaurant for a while. The Waiter nodded and quickly returned with the bottle that had been opened for them and refilled Shane's glass before leaving.

"So, you were saying I looked strange?" Jaina swirled the rest of her wine around in her glass, but she also couldn't help the tug of a smile on her lips. Her smile was what relieved Shane in all actuality. "No, I was saying it was just strange to see." He took her wine glass from her hand and refilled it, placing it in front of her on the table. "You were one of the bigger tom boys I've known and then I see you today before the meeting, and...I've got to tell you, if you hadn't been standing next to your father, I wouldn't have recognized you."

"Well," Jaina circled her finger around the top of her wine glass, "I just got tired of being so...frumpy, I guess is the word. So, one day, I just gave all my dirty jeans and t-shirts to the good will and went shopping, I got my hair cut and styled. Some of my friends at school helped me pick out make up and...." she shrugged, spreading her arms wide, touching the booth from end to end. "Here I am now." She bit her lip. "Dad wasn't too wild about it. The clothes were fine, but he didn't understand the make up; said I was prettier without it, but I like it."

"You _are_ pretty without it," Shane said before he could catch himself. But he was rewarded by a flush of red across Jaina's cheeks and a shy smile. _Well, that's a good sign_, he thought to himself, leaning forward on the table. "I don't think you look strange, I think you look...well, if I'm being a man and I'm being honest, I think you look beautiful, with or without the make up. But I'm an old fashioned guy myself, and I think there are too many women out there who think they need cosmetics to make themselves into some kind of gorgeous super model." He glanced up at Jaina's face and stopped speaking. "What?"

"It's just I never would have expected to hear that from you," she admitted, "I honestly didn't think you cared one way or another whether or not a woman decides to not wear make up or put ten pounds of it on."

"Well, just between you and me, I don't really like cosmetics all that much. When I first went on camera, it was like pulling teeth to get me into the make up chair, and all I get is concealer and powder."

It was then that the waiter came back with their entree's. After asking if they needed anything else, the waiter left the table, leaving Shane and Jaina to their lunch. The latter popped a shrimp into her mouth and a dreamy expression came on her face. "That's what I've missed." She watched Shane break off a rib with a fork and nearly choked, giggling hysterically. The man across from her looked up. "What's funny?"

"You!" Jaina shook her head, reaching across the table and taking the fork and knife from his hands. "You can't eat Texas ribs like that, everyone's going to know you're a yankee!" She took one of the baby backs and tore off a rib, handing it to Shane. "Come on, McMahon, get your hands a little dirty here." Shane only shrugged.

"I think I can accept that challenge." He took the rib in both of his hands and set to munching on it, Jaina returning to her shrimp. Both of them gave each other furtive looks during the meal, but really said nothing until they were both done.

"I can't believe you tried to eat Texas ribs with a fork," Jaina wiped her hands off. "Hey, sue me, I'm from Greenwich. We eat with utensils, not our hands." Shane smirked at her as he signaled for the check and paid for it immediately.

"Make sure you leave a generous tip, please," Jaina gathered her purse together and stood up, taking Shane's hand to do so.

"I always do." The young McMahon offered his arm and Jaina accepted, both of them walking out of the restaurant together.

"Thanks for lunch," she said as she got into the car. Shane shut the door and entered on the other side, taking her hand and saying, "it was my pleasure," before giving her a small kiss just below her wrist. Once again, a blush crept up Jaina's face and she ducked her head, looking out the window.

But she didn't take her hand out of Shane's.

**WWF**

It was 5:30 central time when Jaina and Shane arrived back at the Alamo Dome, just in time for Jaina to go over, one more time, her lines and any last minute advice that her father would give her. Shane escorted her back to the locker room she'd share with her father that evening, and neither he nor Steve's daughter missed the look of subtle relief of Austin's face. After a parting good bye, Jaina settled herself in a chair across from Steve and crossed her legs, regarding him quietly for a moment.

"Dad, seriously, please relax. I'll be fine," she soothed, "I understand why you're worried, but I know the risks I'm taking getting into the business. Besides, I've had the best teacher anyone can ask for my entire life."

Steve nodded, grabbing his script and motioning for Jaina to do the same. "I know," was all he said before he flipped back the first page. For the next two hours, they looked over the script together, Austin answering any questions his daughter may have, reassuring himself through the whole process that for a first night introduction, Jaina would have things under control.

At 7:45, the state managers made their rounds to all the locker rooms, informing them the show would start in 15 minutes. By this time, Austin had changed into his trade mark black leather vest, cut off jean shorts with his knee braces, and boots. Jaina was still in make up and wardrobe, which was where the script called for her to be when she first came on the screen. Steve grabbed a bottle of water, but instead of drinking it, poured it over his head, keeping at bay the nerves that he felt for his daughter.

Austin had taught her everything she knew about fighting, and Steve was very proud to say that if she ever got into a position where she would need to defend herself, she would be able to do so with flying colors. She didn't know wrestling moves per say, but she could throw a punch and do a good amount of damage with the best of them. He'd made certain of that from the time she was five years old and on, and it wasn't hard to do so. Steve should have known that with Jaina's love for physical melee she would have a definite desire to join the WWF, but he'd always been able to keep that day at bay. Now though, he had to accept that the day had come, and soon, the camera's would be on her, she'd by his side at the ring, thousands of fans would fall in love with her, and she would be put into some precarious positions a few weeks down the road.

For now though, he had to focus. He had no matches tonight, but the story line called for him to raise some hell with the Ministry of Darkness. Austin grinned at that thought; not a problem at all.

A knock came on the door and one of the crew techs poked his head in, "Steve, two minutes," then closed the door once again. Austin took a deep breath and opened the door, nodding to the camera crew. From his position in the hall, he could hear the fans cheering and screaming, knowing that tonight was going to be an incredible night. While Stone Cold Steve Austin didn't have a match, he was going to be on the look out for the Undertaker and his ministry, who had been very quiet since last weeks 'interruption'.

No, Undertaker was not happy that Stone Cold had interfered in his wedding plans. Not at all. Stephanie was now safe and secure, back home in Connecticut, thanks to Stone Cold. But as well as that boded for McMahon's daughter, that didn't bode well for Austin, and he knew there would be hell to pay for that.

"Okay Austin, 10 seconds."

Hearing that, Steve left his head, replaced by Stone Cold Steve Austin. The camera light shone on him and the techie gave the thumbs up signal.

Time to start the show.

_**WWF**_

Jaina sat in the chair, making idle chatter with the make up artist and laughing when her father came up to her. "How're they treatin' you baby girl, treatin' you good?"

"They're great, Daddy, thanks." Jaina leaned her head forward to receive a kiss from her father. As the make up artist leaned forward to apply some more blush to his daughters cheeks, Austin reached out a hand to stop her. "Hey, hey, hey, that's enough make up there, look at that, you can't even recognize her anymore." The make up artist backed off, with an apologetic look from Jaina. "We going now, Dad?"

"Yea, I gotta few things to get off of my chest tonight." Jaina thanked the artist, then hopped off the chair and headed after her father.

_**WWF**_

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, after a hellatious Monday night last week for Stephanie McMahon, her w_edding_, if you will, to the Undertaker, foiled by Stone Cold Steve Austin, I can tell you that the Undertaker is here, Stone Cold Steve Austin is here tonight on Raw, and I very well imagine that those two will be crossing paths later on tonight." J.R. sat ring side, next to, as always, Jerry the King Lawler. "It is Raw is War, from the Alamo Dome, in San Antonio, Texas tonight, it is live, and it promises to be one Hell of a night. Stephanie McMahon is not here, she is, as you can well understand, recuperating from her ordeal here last Monday night, and-"

He was cut off as Stone Cold Steve Austin's entrance music, and the crowd, as always, came to their feet, cheering, screaming, and all in all, giving an extraordinary welcome to Austin as he appeared from the back area, with his daughter by his side.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, business is about to pick up here as Stone Cold, WWF champion, makes his way to the ring with...well, I'm not sure who that is, she's a young lady."

Jerry cut in, "I'm sure we're about to find out. Did Austin say he was picking up a valet or a manager at anytime? I don't remember him saying that, but if he did, that's a hell of a choice right there; she's gorgeous."

J.R. rolled his eyes. "Austin doesn't seem like the type of man to have a manager, that man is his own man, he doesn't let anyone tell him what to do or when to do it, Stone Cold does what he wants to do, and it looks like what he wants to do right now is come out here tonight and give everyone a piece of his mind."

Both announcers watched as Austin bounced from turn buckle to turn buckle, climbing up on each and raising his arms in the air, allowing the fans to enjoy his presence. Behind him, Jaina stood in the center of the ring, praising her father with applause and grinning from ear to ear. It was fairly apparent that the men in the front rows of the arena had taken a shine to her already, but she put that out of her mind as her father grabbed a microphone and motioned for the production truck to cut the music.

"First of all," he paced the ring, looking around with what could graciously be described as a cerebral expression, "first of all, I have an introduction to make. Ole Stone Cold usually comes to the ring by himself, cause he doesn't need anyone walkin' behind him, watchin' his back, but I decided to make an exception, just this once!"

It was fairly obvious that the fans didn't care what the man said, as long as he kept talking, they would keep cheering.

"Standin' in the center of this ring is none other than my little girl, Jaina Austin!" Stone Cold walked around his daughter while the fans cheers grew considerably louder. If the camera's had cut to J.R. and The King, the fans at home would have seen shock registered on both of their faces. As it was though, all they could do was repeat the information, and their surprise at Austin's daughter being by her fathers side.

"Now that the introductions are over with, let's get down to business!" Jaina stepped out of the center of the ring, effectively letting her father have the floor. She took up station at the back of the ropes, resting her arms on them as she watched her father do what he did best; provoke his enemies.

"Let's get one thing straight right now," Austin stopped and looked toward the aisle, "let's get one thing straight, I didn't do what I did last week for Vince McMahon. As far as I'm concerned, that son of a bitch can go straight to Hell, and the world would be better off for it!" His words were received well, as if he were preaching the gospel himself. "And I didn't do it for Stephanie McMahon either! Truth of the matter is, if Vince's dumb ass woulda stopped bringin' her with him, it never would have happened in the first place!"

Jaina, staying true to her father, raised her hands and clapped them together, nodding her head in agreement.

"The reason I came out here last Monday night was for one reason, and one reason only; that son of a bitch Undertaker pressed Stone Colds buttons one to many times, and last Monday night seemed as good as any a night to open up a can of whoop ass on that dead bastard!" Austin, in his normal fashion, continued to pace the ring up and down, holding the crowd captive with his voice, their ears hanging off every word that fell from his mouth. "I'm tired of bein' screwed, and Vince, I know you're back there, ya beady eyed little bastard, and I know you can hear me, so I know you'll hear me when I say that I want a shot at Taker tonight. You can put me in any kinda match you wanna put me into, you can put me in a Hell in the Cell, you can put me in a First Blood Match, No DQ, I don't give a damn, but you're gonna put me in the ring tonight with the Undertaker, so get out here and do it!"

Austin stepped back from the ropes closest to the aisle, waiting for Vince to come down as Jaina walked up to him. "You really think he's gonna come out here?" She asked, the mic to far from her for her voice to carry. Austin looked at his daughter, then held the mic back up to his mouth. "Vince, as you can tell, I'm a little impatient tonight, you can either come out here in this ring and gimme what I want, or I can come back there, find ya, and persuade you to give me what I want. It don't really matter how it gets done, just as long as it gets done!" The crowd roared with agreement, stomping their feet, clapping their hands, beating on anything that would make noise. A few moments later, McMahon's entrance music filled the arena and Vince walked out, pompous as ever, but none the less the look of a grateful father still on his face. Stone Cold walked to the ropes and leaned on them, the mic still in his hands, Jaina standing right behind him.

After making his way down the ramp, McMahon entered the ring and regarded Austin closely, taking special care to keep a respectful distance from him. The crowd quieted down, wanting to hear the owner speak, wanting to hear the owner give their favorite wrestler what he wanted and deserved. "First Austin, I want to thank you personally for what you did last Monday night. You and I...we don't always see eye to eye-"

"We never see eye to eye, Vince," the wrestler interrupted, staring his boss down with an angry look on his face. Vince swallowed, but pressed on. "We don't always see eye to eye, but you will never know what you did for me, what you did for Stephanie, and I'll always be grateful to you for that." Vince paced the ring softly, his eyes falling on Jaina. "Second, I'd like to welcome your own daughter to the WWF. Jaina, we're glad to have you and uh...we all look forward to working with you." His response was a shrewd look from Jaina. Just like her father, Jaina Austin didn't trust Vince as far as she could throw him. "Now, as for your request," the owner cleared his throat, "as you know, the Undertaker is already scheduled for a match tonight against Kane." He held up his hand as Stone Cold slowly raised the mic to his mouth, getting ready to unleash a tirade against McMahon. "He's in a match tonight against Kane, but, what I can do, and what I will do Austin, is on May 23rd, at Over the Edge...I will put you in a Hell in the Cell Match with the Undertaker, if that's what you want."

"That's what I want!" Austin ensured him. "That's exactly what I want, Vince, I want that dead bastard in the ring with me!" He glared at his boss, Jaina feeling the tension between two powerful men building. Vince seemed to be thinking about it, then he nodded his head once.

"You got it, Austin! You've got Undertaker all to yourself at Over the Edge!"

The crowd showed their appreciation for McMahon's decision by giving him a heartfelt and long cheer of unrestrained glee. Jaina grinned, clapping her hands, nodding her approval at Vince as Austin stomped over to back of the ring, signaling one of the ring hands to throw him two beers.

"But, hold on, Austin, hold on," Vince placated him, holding out a hand, trying to get his attention, which he did. Steve turned around, wary at what would come out of Vince's mouth next, "you've got your match, Austin, and believe me, I've got no problems giving that bastard to you on a silver platter, after what he did to my little girl. But it's 'little girls' that I want to talk to you about." He nodded towards Jaina, whose expression carried confusion. "What does this have to do with me?" She asked, her father coming to stand beside her.

"Now, now just hear me out, okay, Stone Cold? Just hear me out, cause I have some experience with this, as you well know," Vince cleared his throat, "these past weeks, when I watched Stephanie being stalked by that...by that mad man, I've felt about as helpless as I've ever felt in my life. I didn't know where he was, I didn't know how he was getting his information, and this guy...this devil got into my house, he went through my daughters room, he burned his symbol on my front lawn!"

"I'm in no mood for games, Vince, get to the point!" Austin demanded.

"The point, Steve, is this; I'm not talking to you as your boss, I'm not talking to you as a fellow employee of the WWF, I'm not even talking to you man to man," McMahon paused, making sure Austin understood him, "I'm talking to you father to father, I'm talking to you as one father of his baby girl, to another. The Undertaker made my daughters life a living Hell. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat, she couldn't go outside without fearing for her well being...and I couldn't do a damn thing about it."

"So, Austin," he continued, "if you want the Undertaker at Over the Edge, that's all well and good, but please, heed this bit of advice. Actually, it's the same bit of advice that you gave me earlier tonight; leave Jaina at home."

Jaina took a deep breath, pursing her lips. Her father was about to speak again, more than likely to tell Vince what he could go do with himself, but Jaina placed a soft hand on her fathers arm, and motioned for permission to take the mic. With more than a little trepidation, Stone Cold handed it over and stepped back, crossing massive arms over a strong chest, looking on at Vince.

He could tell that the owner of the WWF had focused his attention solely on Jaina.

"Mr. McMahon," she took a deep breath, pondering her words carefully, "I want to say first that, coming from me, I'm really sorry about what happened to Stephanie. I've met her before...I'd like to consider her a friend, if not a close acquaintance, and what the Undertaker did to her was reprehensible, without a doubt."

Over the headset, J.R. and The King talked amongst themselves. "She definitely doesn't sound like an Austin," King said, "she sounds almost civil."

Back in the ring, Jaina was still addressing Vince. "But you have to understand; for months I've watched the Undertaker, and with all due respect, you, Mr. McMahon until recently, try to dismantle my father limb by limb and manipulate him to both of your wills. It's my job, as his daughter to stand beside him and support him." She nodded as the crowd cheered their agreement. Vince continued to listen, not giving away anything with his expression. "And I _will_ stand beside him, tonight, next Monday night, and especially at Over the Edge!"

"That's understandable," was all Vince could say, handing the floor back to Jaina, who wasn't finished talking.

"Now, I might be from the south, but make no mistake, I ain't no southern belle. I am more than capable of taking care of myself; I have my dad to thank for that. I'm not going to run away, my father wouldn't run away, he never has, he never will, and as his daughter, come hell or high water, I will stand with him through _anything_ the Undertaker has to throw at him." With that, she handed the mic back to her father, who immediately took and climbed the nearest turn buckle.

"And that's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so!"

As his music exploded in the arena, Austin jumped out of the corner, tossing the mic haphazardly in the air, watching Vince as he nodded, accepting Jaina's decision, and climbing out of the ring. Jaina watched him head to the back, and when he disappeared, her father was still working the crowd.

And that was when the lights went out.

_**WWF**_

The fans that were sitting closest to the ring could hear Jaina calling for her father. So far, only the lights were out, but Jaina didn't want to stick around and wait for what was coming next, and she had a strong suspicion of what that was.

She felt her father come to stand beside her, telling her not to worry, everything was going to be alright, but when the lights slowly came up into a bluish hue, and the first toll of the bell was heard, Austin pushed his daughter to the center of the ring and faced the ramp, calling for the Undertaker to show himself.

And show himself he did, along with Paul Bearer. He stayed behind Taker, but none the less, Austin wasn't taking any chances. He motioned for a mic to be tossed to him again, but before he could speak, the Undertaker beat him to it.

"Austin," he breathed, as the lights came up fully, revealing the creature of darkness standing at the top of the ramp. Stone Cold came forward and rested his food on the bottom rope, listening intently, Jaina doing the same.

"If you want me at Over the Edge, that's all well and good. But you'd better be prepared for a beating from Hell." The Undertaker was now in full light, and Jaina actually stepped back a foot or two from his menacing, and frankly, evil, presence.

"Last Monday night, you took from me my chance to rule. The Darkness called me, called Her...and because of you, I couldn't answer His call." On the huge Titan-tron, it was very evident that the Undertaker was in a tightly controlled rage.

Austin only grinned, holding the microphone up again. "Well, Taker, I hope you left a message for Him." Stone Cold paced the rope area once more, walking around Jaina, but never taking his eyes off the Undertakers face. Jaina also continued to watch, but her face was not the jovial one her fathers was, and when the Dead Man's expression turned sinister to be sure, it was the first look of trepidation that Austin's daughter had shown in the few minutes she'd been introduced to the wrestling world.

"I did, Austin. Do you want to know what He told me?"

Stone Cold leaned on the ropes again, keen to hear the latest news from the Undertakers puppet. He was all ears as Jaina crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"Your days are numbered Austin." Taker nodded knowingly; in his mind, it was fact. "You will be sacrificed to The Higher Power, you, and anyone else He deems is worthy."

"Well, that's all fine and dandy, Undertaker, you go ahead and be a bitch to your 'Higher Power', cause that role suits you pretty well!" Austin climbed onto the bottom rope, leaning over the top, making sure the Undertaker could see his face plain as day. "But nothin' you do is gonna stop me from stompin' a mud hole in your dead ass, and you can take that to the bank!"

Once again, the fans went wild, cheering Austin's name as he continued his trash talk without the mic pointing at Undertaker, bouncing on the ropes, all the while Jaina resting her arms on the top rope, watching him. A self satisfied smirk crossed her Texas tanned face. Of course her father would beat the Undertaker. He had so far, hadn't he?

"Nothing, Austin?" The Undertaker stepped forward, his massive form appearing larger now as he came closer, standing at the middle of the ramp. "Nothing is a broad term. You see, Austin, you've always gone by the creed that you don't have anything to lose."

The sickening smile on the man's face chilled Jaina to her very core as he continued.

"But I think we can all see that's no longer the case."

With that ending, Undertakers music played once again as he walked backwards up the ramp, locking his eyes on Austin, and once or twice, nodding in Jaina's direction.

And all Stone Cold could do was stand there and watch his arch nemesis back up the ramp and disappear into the dark.

**WWF**

After walking back stage, Jaina let out the deep breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her debut was over. She had a few more on camera things to do later that night, but all in all, she thought the whole thing went remarkably well. It was certainly one thing to watch RAW on television; she remembered the chills and goose bumps she'd get when she watched the matches. Being there though, in the center of the ring, in the halls, hearing the crowd, _looking_ at Vince McMahon and Undertaker only feet away from her...it was possibly the most intimidating and exciting thing she'd ever experienced in her life. Now she understood when her father said that it was very easy for things to get out of control in the ring.

"So, how'd I do?" She asked, eager for a critique of her first performance. She followed her father back to the locker room, awaiting his judgement. He'd already told her that she'd done a good job when they were walking up the ramp, but she wanted to full report. They settled down in the locker room, sitting across from each other in two steel chairs. Austin leaned back and regarded his daughter quietly for a moment.

"I'm gonna give you my honest opinion," Steve leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, tapping his fingers together. Jaina swallowed nervously. He'd told her that she'd done well a few minutes ago. Maybe he'd had time to reflect...

"If you want to make this a career, you got it in you."

Jaina bit her lip. She was waiting for the infamous 'but' that always came after statements like that. But it didn't come. Her father just looked at her with cool blue eyes, and she could swear that she saw an expression of pride just beneath the surface of his face.

"You let the show happen, Jay. Most people, when they first start off, they try to _make_ the show happen. But out there, you just let it happen. You stood in that ring, you didn't try to make yourself bigger than what you were, you didn't try to take over...you just let the show run itself...that's the biggest trick, and in my opinion, baby girl, you did an amazin' job. I'm proud of ya, c'mere." Jaina's exclamations of glee were muffled by the tight hug her father put her into. "You were so good out there. I ain't worried about ya anymore." Jaina pulled back from her father, a grin a mile wide on her face. "Yes you are, don't lie!" She called him on his bluff. Of course he'd always be worried about her, he'd never be able to convince her otherwise.

"Alright, fine. Not as much." Steve stepped back from his daughter as a knock came to the door. He was slightly surprised to see Shane standing there when he opened it, but none the less, he showed the younger man in.

"I just came by to excellent job," Shane nodded his head approvingly at Jaina, "I bet you if there are people tuning in for the first time tonight and they saw you, they're going to think you're a regular part of the show."

"Except for that part where Dad introduced me for the first time," Jaina reminded him, snickering. "Yea, except for that," Shane laughed, "actually, Austin, if I could get you in the hall for a minute. I want to talk to you about a little change up in the story line tonight." While Jaina looked confused, her father only nodded his head. There was hardly a Monday night RAW where a storyline wasn't changed up for some reason; it was normal around here. Sometimes the producers would see something that they wanted to capitalize on, whether it was something one of the wrestlers said or the way a match went or who got involved. Jaina waited in the locker room, and a few minutes later, both men walked back in.

"So do I get to be let in on the little secret, or is this a boys only affair?"

"Nope, boys only affair, baby girl. That's another thing about the business ya gotta get used to; you'll know it when you need to. Just react how you would." Austin wrapped an arm around Jaina's shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple. She tried pouting the information out of him, but that didn't work either, much to her frustration and Shane's amusement.

"Ah, I get it; you're one of those people who can't stand not to know what's going on, right?" Shane smiled knowingly, watching an agitated Jaina tap her foot against the floor. He smirked at her. "Don't you have a run by with Undertaker in a few minutes?"

Jaina frowned and glanced at her watch. "Yea, I do, in 15 minutes." She walked over to the vanity mirror checking her hair. "If you guys want to talk about what you were discussing in the hallway, don't let me stop you!" Her father shook her head. "Ain't gonna happen, Jay. You might as well just give it up now."

She groaned, but relented finally, smiling at the both of them as she left the locker room. As much as she wanted to know what was going to happen, she knew she had to focus on her task at hand. A face to face meeting with the Undertaker...

She literally wanted to wet her pants.

_**WWF**_

"I mean, I've been at events and things like that before, but I just wanted to see how everything worked up close, you know?" Jaina was speaking to one of the technicians, getting the inside scoop on how everything was done, from the production truck to the back stage coordinators all the way down to ring crew. She truly was interested in every aspect of the business, and why shouldn't she be? Each person had a place, and without that person, the show wouldn't be nearly as successful as it was today.

She was leaning over the desk, studiously listening to everything the technician was telling her when she felt a presence behind her, towering over her. Her heart skipped a beat as she dared a look at the technician.

Who was gone.

She was now standing rigidly straight, and she didn't even have to turn around to know who was standing there. The evil static that filled the area was all the answer she needed. She felt him move closer to her, until her back was flush against his chest, and it was all she could do to keep her breathing in check and her eyes from becoming larger than saucepans.

_My God, this is what Daddy is gonna go up against?_

She felt a cold, rigid finger touch her elbow and trail softly up her arm, but still showed no signs of fear, other than a straight back that was filled with tension. Jaina closed her eyes, feeling his breath singe her dirty blonde strands as his finger reached her shoulder.

"Don't be afraid, little one," he murmured, and in response, she tightened her grip on the table in front of her, "you're not the one I'm focused on. Yet."

The Undertaker let out an audible snicker as he backed away from her, leaving her clinging to the table, her heart racing, and the unmistakable look of fear finally appearing on her face. She didn't even notice Shane walking up to her.

"Jaina." Shane stopped in front of her, waiting for her to respond, but when she did, he looked at her more closely. "Jaina!" And she snapped out of it, blue eyes meeting his own in a look of fright. "Hey, are you okay? Did something happen?"

"No, no, I'm fine, I uh...I was just um...bad memory crept up on me, that's all," she stuttered out, glancing around nervously and then looking back at him. "How can I help you?"

"I wanted to welcome you to the WWF. You know, we're really happy to have you," Shane held out his hand, and Jaina was of enough sound mind to grasp it gently. "Well thanks...um..." she ran a hand through her hair and looked back up at him. "Look, you wouldn't happen to know where my dad is right now, would you?"

"Well, he's in his locker room last I checked." The look of concern on Shane's face was now more than evident as he stepped closer into her personal space. "Look, are you sure you're alright? You look a little shaken up."

"Yea," Jaina took a deep breath and smiled, "yea, I'm sure. Thanks. I think I'll just go find my Dad." She looked down and realized that they were still holding each other's hand. "You said the locker room?"

"Last I saw, yes."

"Okay."

Shane released her hand and watched her walk away, a look of puzzlement on his face. "Hey, Jaina," he suddenly called out to her, making her pause and turn around for a moment, "you looked really good out there tonight. Seriously. Glad you're on board."

For the first time in five minutes, a smile broke through on Jaina's face and she momentarily forgot her confrontation with the Undertaker. "Thanks," she replied shyly, then turned around, heading off for the locker rooms.

_**WWF**_

"Well King, we just saw the Undertaker meet Jaina Austin for the first time, one on one, and I gotta tell ya, as scared as that young lady must have been, she didn't show a bit of it to the Undertaker."

"And we could see her face, and it was obvious she was nervous, but she didn't panic and I gotta say, J.R., I think the Undertaker liked that. That, that evil smile of his just got wider and wider!" Lawler leaned forward on his desk, talking in earnest, "and you've got to know that when Austin finds out that the Undertaker cornered his little girl, he's gonna be furious!"

J.R. nodded, "Austin's close to the breaking point, he is, and you know, King, this might just be the thing to set him off tonight. But," he cleared his throat, "what about Shane McMahon?"

"What about Shane McMahon? He was being a true gentleman, welcoming Jaina to the WWF and even showing concern for her...you know she looked pretty stricken, J.R."

"Yes, and it's certainly interesting for a McMahon to show...well, I guess for lack of any other word, show a true concern for an Austin. These are two of the most powerful families in wrestling, and the heads of those families don't like each other very much!" J.R. looked at the camera in front of him, now able to talk to the fans at home. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we've got a hell of a night under way, the Hardy Boys tag teaming against Edge and Christian of the ministry for the tag team champion ship is up next!"

_**WWF**_

Jaina walked with a purpose back to the dressing room she shared with her father, bursting through the door and startling Stone Cold, who was stretching out on the floor. "Jaina, what is it, what happened?"

"The Undertaker..." Jaina was amazed at the speed with which her father jumped to his feet, standing right in front of her, a look of anger and pure hatred on his face. "The Undertaker what?"

"He...I was at one of the technician stands and he came up behind me...!"

Austin grabbed his daughters arms, forcing her to stand still and look at him. Her hands rested on his upper arms for support as she tried to calm down enough to tell him what had just transpired.

When Stone Cold heard what exactly had gone on, he bolted for the door, but Jaina held onto his arms. "No! Dad, Dad, please! Please, don't do anything, okay? Just-just stay here, please!"

"What do you mean 'stay here'. I ain't gonna stay here, that bastard ain't gonna mess with my family!" But Austin backed away from the door, beginning his pacing, a technique that worked for both calming him down and letting me think.

"Dad, he was just trying to scare me, and yea, it made me nervous, but he didn't frighten me, I promise. Okay? Please. He has the whole ministry with him, you know he does! What, are you gonna go fly head first into an ambush? That's probably why he did what he did, to draw you out!"

Austin stopped dead cold in his tracks, pondering that possibility. There was nothing more he'd like to do than find the Undertaker and destroy him at that very moment. But the obstacle to that was Jaina, standing between him and the door, pleading with him to stay right where he was.

Man was his image going to take a beating.

_**WWF**_

As RAW nights go, it was a pretty tame one. The matches went off without a hitch, and Austin stayed in the locker room with his daughter, save for Michael Cole knocking on the door hoping to do an interview with the both of them. But Austin wasn't up for chats that night, and he promptly slammed the door in Michael's face, leaving the reporter staring at the door.

In the room, Jaina watched her father, sitting stoically on the couch beside her. Undertaker and Kane's match was coming up, and Austin planned on sitting right there and watch for any signs of trouble, either on the monitor or near the locker room.

From where they were, and on the television, they could hear the music of Kane kick on, both Austin's watching the t.v. intently as Kane made his way down to the ring, tightening the gloves on his hands, ready to business with his brother, the Undertaker.

And when the Phenom appeared, Jaina tightened her grip unconsciously on her father's arm, her eyes locked on the man making his way down the ramp, his dark leather, druid like robes flowing with him, making him appear larger than Jaina could possibly imagine him to be. On the television, they could both hear Lawler and J.R. recounting the activities earlier in the night, replaying the Reel of the Undertaker surprising Jaina at the technician station. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father bristle, watching the Undertaker trail a finger up his daughters arm. She hadn't told him about that part; Jaina hadn't wanted him to worry. She knew that if she told him that the Undertaker had done that, there would have been no keeping him in the locker room.

She said as much to her father, who only glared back at her, but it didn't phase Jaina at all.

"You should've told me," was all he said to her, before looking back at the television.

"And have you walk into an ambush when you go in there all hot headed? I don't think so. You're cold, and your calculating, and if you want to beat his ass at Over the Edge, you need to be at full strength."

Austin rolled his eyes. "So, what, you're my manager now?"

Jaina smiled. "Wouldn't hurt."

The both turned their attention back to the action at hand. Kane was in the process of driving the Undertake back with a series of well placed uppercuts. Bouncing Undertaker off the ropes, Kane swung him to the parallel side and when he bounced off the ropes, Kane hit him with a closeline. The Undertaker dropped, but not for long.

For about ten minutes, this was how the match went, each party going blow for blow, kick for kick, special move for special move. It was only when Kane bounced off the ropes to give the Undertaker a scissor kick that the latter turned the tables, grabbing his brother by the neck and raising him eye above his head before sending him down to the mat in a vicious choke slam. For good measure, the Undertaker set Kane up for a Piledriver, and when it was delivered, it was clear that Kane was out. One, two, three, and the Undertaker, the leader of the Ministry of Darkness was declared the winner.

"Well, that's that..." Jaina murmured, standing up, placing her hands on her hips. "Hopefully Kane gave him some bruises to last for a while." She looked back at her father, but his eyes were still focused on the screen before him. Furrowing her eyebrows, she looked back at the television and immediately saw why.

Undertaker had the mic. And he didn't look happy. He slit his thumb across his throat, effectively ending the music that was playing.

"Austin; I know you're still here. I know you're watching. What you saw me do to Kane here tonight is only the beginning of what I can and will do to you in three weeks. So, if you want me Austin, here I am." He dropped the microphone to his side and looked up at the ramp expectantly, willing for Stone Cold to come walking down.

At that moment, the challenged was standing up, in the locker room, but he was hesitating. He'd been in the business too long and this smelled like a trap.

"What are you waiting for, Austin?" Taker goaded, grinning his evil grin. "I'm here, I'm right here. Waiting. Was that all talk earlier tonight when you told me you wanted to destroy me?"

Jaina glanced at her father out of the corner of her eye. She knew that if he wanted to go, she wouldn't be able to stop him this time, but he still hung back, watching the monitor, planning a strategy.

"Or," the Undertaker rolled his eyes to the back of his head, relishing in the evil that personified, "I can come back there again. I was back there earlier tonight, Austin. And do you know who I came upon?" He laughed manically. "Standing behind her tonight, feeling her against me, touching her, talking to her...foiling my union with Stephanie McMahon may have been, what you people of the light may call, a blessing in disguise"

That was all it took for Austin. He ripped open the door, not paying attention to the screams his daughter voicing, begging him to stay where he was, that it was a trap. Stone Colds Texas Fury was raised, and he wasn't about to let a shot at Undertakers ass slip out of his grasp.

Austin charged down the ramp, throwing himself into the ring and immediately ripping into the Undertaker, punching him left and right until he bear jumped on him, forcing him to the mat, continuing to pound the mans face with vicious punches. But he didn't see Jaina's biggest fear crawling into the ring to stop him.

Edge and Christian, along with the Acolytes, Vicera, and Gangrel snaked into the ring, unseen and unknown by Austin, until they forcibly pulled the man up and off of their leader, holding tightly to him, holding him for the Undertakers dark uses. And no matter how hard Steve kicked his legs and tried to push the six men off of him, he was, in a word, helpless. His trash talk was being enjoyed by the Phenom as Austin hurled insults and threats at his worst enemy, but all Taker did was smile is devious, devilish smile and pick up the mic once more.

"As you can see, Austin, when you attack me, you attack my entire Ministry. And for that, I believe my they should have the chance to return the favor." He stepped back, nodding his head in permission, and the effective beat down of Stone Cold began. They held him while they each punched him, attacked his knees, threw his head into the mat...

Jaina couldn't stand to watch anymore. She raced from the locker room, running through anyone that got in her way, ignoring the looks of confusion from the passing crew. When she reached the entrance way, she grabbed a mic off the stand and took the steps two at a time.

"Stop it! Stop it, Undertaker, please, stop!" She pleaded, standing at the top of the entrance way, looking down at the ministry who was trying to dismantle her father. She walked back and forth, not knowing what else she could do. She could run down to the ring, but that would only make matters worse. Jaina prided herself on keeping a cool head. Something her father usually threw to the wind.

But, the Undertaker held up his hand signaling for the ministry to cease their assault on Austin. Stone Cold was more pissed than ever as he was able to catch a glimpse of his daughter standing at the top of the ramp. "Don't you dare Undertaker, don't even think about it, ya yellow bastard, I'll split your skull wide open if you even think about it!"

The Dead Man only grinned at the man pinned to the mat, and slowly but surely, focused all his attention on Jaina.

"What can the Ministry of Darkness do for the daughter of Stone Cold Steve Austin?" His voice was like a slithering eel, and it visibly shook Jaina to her core, but she maintained her calm.

"You can fight him one and one if you really want him that much," she answered, her eyes glittering with soon to fall tears if her father wasn't released, "but seven on one is just cowardly!" The fans rose to their feet at that insult, heartedly agreeing with her, and somewhat surprised that she would have the guts to speak to the Undertaker that way.

The man in question was surprised as well.

"Your father needs to learn respect for those who are more powerful than he. And Jaina," the Undertaker pointed toward her, freezing her in her tracks, "it looks like you need to learn the same. Christian, Edge...." he smiled sadistically at them, "help yourselves."

Jaina dropped the mic, and this time, she couldn't keep her eyes from widening. She stepped back, 17 years of hand to hand training trying to make it's way to her memory. But before she knew what was happening, two men ran past her, meeting Christian and Edge at the bottom of the ramp. It took her a moment to realize that it was the Hardy Boys, sore over their loss earlier in the night due to interference from the ministry. She stayed at the top of the ramp while the two tag teams battled it out, and she could see that the Undertaker was not pleased with the turn of events.

"My Acolytes," he seethed pointing to the top of the ramp, and that was all the permission they needed as both men hopped out of the ring bypassing the brawl going on between the Hardy Boys, Christian and Edge, and making their way up the ramp. Jaina frantically looked for something, anything to fend them off with, but was nearly run over by the Big Show and Ken Shamrock. Her hands flew to her mouth as they both did a flying leap at The Acolytes, and their heads knocked against the steel that was the ramp. Now, there was only Vicera, Gangrel, and the Undertaker in the ring. She picked up the mic.

"Let him be, Undertaker, unless you want your entire Ministry laid out to dry!" Jaina was regaining some confidence, now that there three men fighting against the Ministry, not necessarily for her, but for the evil that the group had done.

"Little girl, you've overstepped your boundaries, and it's only your first night. But everyone has to learn sometime. Vicera, Gangrel! Finish him!" Undertaker nodded down at Austin, and Vicera, along with Gangrel, began a merciless assault on Austin once more, the Undertaker goading them on and helping out in the process. And that was when Jaina had had enough. She didn't care what her father had told her, she was going in that ring and getting him the hell out of there if was the last thing she did. Which, with the way things were looking, it may very well be.

But as she ran down to the ring and up the steel steps, she didn't let that thought stop her. As she slipped through the ropes, she heard the Undertaker tell his minions to stop, and when he turned all his attention on her, Jaina swallowed hard. She held her hands up in front of her, walking around toward the back ropes, begging, pleading with the creature in front of her to stop the assault, backing up as the Undertaker walked toward her until she could back up no further, as she hit the ropes.

She was staring evil in the face, literally.

And that was when he, along with a steel chair, came into the ring.

_**WWF**_

"It's Shane McMahon! It's Shane McMahon, with a steel chair to the head of the Undertaker!" Indeed, Shane McMahon himself had run into the ring, chair in hand and taken it to the back of Takers head. As a result, the man fell over the top rope and out of the ring, not before Jaina dropped to the mat to allow it to happen.

"Oh God, J.R., Undertaker forgot about somebody!" And that was indeed the truth. Kane was rising from the fires of Hell, and even though he had a mask on, anyone that was in that arena could tell he was not a happy camper. He snaked through the bottom of the ropes into the ring and promptly choke slammed both Vicera and Gangrel.

"My God, it's carnage! It's carnage out here at ring side. Shane McMahon, standing in the middle of the ring, with that steel chair in his hand, the blood of the Undertaker undoubtedly staining it!" J.R. was beside himself with confusion as Big Show, Shamrock, and the Hardy Boys made their way into the ring, standing in front of Shane, the Hardy Boys climbing the turn buckles, daring Edge and Christian to come back and fight, Shane yelling at the Undertaker slamming the chair on the mat once more.

_**WWF**_

Jaina, meanwhile, crawled her way over to her father, giving him a once over before asking him if he was alright. He nodded and reached for the ropes, hauling himself up and staggering past Shane to the front ropes, glaring at the Undertaker, yelling at him to come back and finish the job. "Ya better get back here and finish it Taker, you ain't gonna get another chance!"

The Ministry was busy regrouping at the top of the ramp as Shane grabbed a microphone and headed back to stand in the center of the ring, now being occupied by Jaina. "Undertaker! This is what happens when you mess with my family. That chair shot, that was for my sister! And there's plenty more where that came from!" He put his arm around Jaina, asking her if she was alright, the microphone catching it just barely. Austin pushed his way through the group that had come to assist him, grabbing Jaina by the shoulders, the microphone catching him checking on his daughter, ensuring she was alright. She nodded to both their questions, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the sinister group looking on at the top of the ramp.

This was not going to be a good three weeks.


	2. DC is a Magical City

1**WWF**

Jaina hadn't performed in so much as actually fighting someone, but as she sat in her dressing room, waiting for her father to finish cleaning up, she felt the soreness creep along her upper back and shoulders. She frowned, trying to massage away the tension.

"Just the excitement," Austin said, seeing the look on her face and answering her unspoken question, "your adrenaline isn't used to surges like that. You'll get used to it after a few shows."

"I hope so. At this point, I feel like someone drove me into the mat."

"Uh uh. They've still got the ring up, if you want, I'll show you what it feels like to have that happen." Austin grinned as his daughter quickly shook her head no. "You'll have to learn it though. We can go to a practice ring later next week. From the way things looked tonight, I think Vince might up the pace on your storyline."

"Why do you say that?" Jaina stood up, getting her purse and gym bag together, and followed her father out the door.

"Aw, you should've heard him when I talked to him a few minutes ago. He loves you, said that he expects the ratings points to be up quite a bit." They walked to the rental truck, tossing their bags in the bed and hopping in.

"Vince thinks his ratings are going to go up because of me?" Jaina shook her head in bewilderment. "I highly doubt that, Dad."

"That's good, Jay, keep that attitude," Austin turned the engine over in the truck and got on the road, "never start thinking that the show revolves around you. Everyone's got a place here, you and me just happen to be a small part of it." Her heard her snort and looked over at her.

"Sorry," she said, "but you know I don't have a haughty bone in my body."

"Damn right ya don't, that's cause I raised you right."

They pulled into the Marriott parking lot, and Jaina already saw many cars there, knowing that at least half of them belonged to employee's of the WWF. The continued chatting, grabbing their bags from the bed of the truck and walking into the lobby of the hotel. After getting their room keys, they headed up the elevator. Both their rooms were next to each other on the 14th floor, the WWF having taken up floors 14, 15, and 16. Jaina was still excited as she tossed her things on the bed. She didn't have to fly home, but her father had a promotional event the day after next. He'd fly out tomorrow afternoon to New York City while she would drive back home on Wednesday to Victoria. On Saturday, she had a flight out to the MCI center in Washington D.C., but for now, as a 'Welcome to the WWF' gift from her father, he'd plunked down the money for her to spend Tuesday and part of Wednesday in San Antonio.

She left her room and knocked on her fathers door.

"Hey, I'm going down to the bar, did you want to come?" She asked when he opened the door. He told her he'd be down a little later if at all, and warned her not to drink to much. "Ya might be 23, but I don't wanna be scrapin' you off the floor of the Marriott," he told her sternly. She merely laughed and headed downstairs, walking up to the bar and settling herself on a tall chair.

She was nursing a pint of Harp when she looked over and saw Mark Calloway sitting right beside her.

"Jesus, Mark!" She nearly choked on her beer, "you scared the hell out of me!"

After a chuckle, Mark apologized. "Sorry about that, I honestly thought you noticed when I sat down."

"Nope. Like my dad, when I get a beer in front of me all else goes away," she took another sip then looked at him, sharing a tired smile. "Tonight was...." she shook her head, "I don't even have the words for it. Does it always feel like this?"

Mark contemplated her words. "Does it always feel like what?"

"Like...like I could never, in a million years go back to another job and feel happy in anything that I do when I'm here, doing what I've always wanted to do. You've been here...God, a decade or something like that...does that feeling ever go away?"

His eyes glazed over slightly, a flood of memories coming back all at once. When he finally answered, it was a soft, "nope." He flagged down the bartender and ordered a beer for himself before getting back into the conversation. "Has Steve told you how proud he is of you?"

Jaina shook her head. "What do you mean?"

"Before I came down here, I went by your dad's room. He and I usually have a beer after the shows. And I gotta tell ya...he talked about you a lot when he was on the road, but it wasn't anything compared to the praise he spilled on you tonight." He watched Jaina's eyes light up. "Really?" she asked.

"Oh yea. You really surpassed his expectations, Jaina. Now, he's not gonna tell you that, but you did. He joked that before he was worried because he didn't want you to get hurt out there. Now he's saying that he's worried that you're too good!"

Jaina snorted. "Well, he told me earlier tonight in the locker room after the beginning of the show that I was good enough to be in this business for a long time." Mark nodded. "You are. You did a great job out there tonight." He took a drink from his own beer and looked at her knowingly. "And you proved you can take a change up in the storyline and not bat an eye."

"Oh, I was batting eyes, trust me. I had no idea what was going on; I was like, 'what in the hell'? And then the rest of the ministry just kinda slinked into the ring from out of no where..." she shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I just reacted on instinct."

"That's usually the best way to go about it. That's why Shane and your dad didn't tell you about the change up."

Jaina paused, her glass half way up to her lips. "That was the change? Shane told my Dad to run out there?"

"No," Mark turned a quarter profile to face her somewhat, "Stone Cold and I were supposed to have it out in the ring and be interrupted by all the security and the referee's. Shane changed it just after you were introduced to having the ministry get in on the action." He nearly laughed out loud at the indignant look Jaina got on her face.

"That little-" Jaina snapped her fingers three times in rapid succession, a habit she'd picked up when she got annoyed or when she was trying to think about something. After clicking her tongue against her cheek she looked over and grinned. "How many times does that happen?"

"What, a change in the line?"

"Yea."

"Oh, that can happen every event. Put it to you this way, when you come to your show, be prepared to have a different script than what you were sent when you walk in." Mark downed the rest of his beer, letting Jaina ponder that thought and ordered a second one.

"What's goin' on with you and Shane?"

"Huh?" Jaina was completely caught off guard with that question. "What are you talking about?"

"Shane took you out to lunch, right?" He watched her nod, but he got the feeling that she honestly didn't have any clue what he was talking about. So, he decided to shrug and let the issue be. Or, that's what he was planning. He didn't know yet about Jaina's inability to not know what was going on around her at all times.

"No, no, no...what was that?" She stared at him for a few minutes, then rolled her eyes, finally getting what he was referring to. "Man, you _have_ been talking to Dad, haven't you?" She leaned towards him, as though she were going to tell him a secret. "Would you please, in the name of all that is holy, tell my father that there is nothing going on between me and Shane? And at the same time you deliver that message, would you also please tell him that it is irrational on his part to base what ever assumptions he has on me and Shane's relationship, or lack there of, based on one lunch?"

Blinking a couple of times, Mark tried, honestly, he did, to follow everything she said. However, he'd taken a chair shot from the young man in question earlier that night, and Shane's aim had been dead on. "Can I just sum all that up in two words and tell him he's wrong?" He finally asked.

"Yes, please, and thank you."

"Okay." Mark appeared to leave it at that, looking at Jaina over his glass, but she could feel the older man's eyes on him, and her blue eyes, a carbon copy of her fathers, snapped over to him. "What?" she finally asked.

"I just think if it wasn't true you wouldn't be so defensive about it," he shrugged.

"Okay, I can see where this is going. Shane and I are friends. We saw each other for the first time in a year and a half today, and he took me out to lunch to catch up."

Silence reigned for the next few moments as Mark and Jaina both sat pondering her words, Mark knowing from life's experience and from just knowing Jaina for as long as he had that she was a proud woman and wasn't going to admit anything until she was ready. Jaina for her part was just trying to think about anything other than the topic at hand.

"Was it a good lunch?" Mark finally asked, breaking the ice. Jaina answered quickly. "Yea, yea, it was a great lunch."

"Did I scare you tonight?"

"Oh my God, hell yes," Jaina looked at him, slightly wary, "you came up behind me, and I knew it was you, but...if I'm being honest, I was terrified, then I saw that chicken shit technician run away and..." she shrugged. "I had to keep telling myself it was a show, it was just a show." She shivered visibly and gave him a side long glance. "You're looking mighty proud of yourself."

Mark shrugged in response. "Always good to know that I'm doing my job."

One by one, other WWF stars made their way down to the bar. It was a tradition, as Mark told Jaina, that everyone come down to the bar of the hotel they were staying at the night after the show. They'd sit around, drink, play pool or darts if they were available, and just enjoy each others company before flying home or to another promotional event the next morning. Many were often on the same flights and coordinated times to meet up and go to the airport with each other.

As Jaina was sitting with Mark, and now Glenn Jacobs who had joined them, she saw her father walk in out of the corner of her eye, Paul Levesque behind him. The latter clapped Steve on the back before joining his DX crew and Jaina waved a hand, getting her fathers attention.

"Glenn, Mark," he greeted as Jaina stood up to give him a hug. He signaled to the bar tender and asked for anything on tap. It didn't matter to him; beer was beer. If it was alcoholic, he'd drink it.

"Your kid's really something, Steve," Glenn remarked, causing Jaina to duck her head. While her father was proud of her and always told her so, she wasn't used to the praise and attention she'd been receiving all night from everyone.

"Yep, I know. I did a great job, didn't I?" Steve said, though he was only joking. His daughter rolled her eyes. "Gee, Dad, what was that you were saying in the car about staying humble?"

"Eh, that only applies to you."

"Ah, okay."

It was a late night for a lot of the wrestlers, and that was the custom. This was the time where they all got to catch up with one another, talk about the show, their families, any events that were coming up in the next week. Jaina would always hear stories about some of the crazy things the guys did to unwind at the end of the night, but now she wouldn't have to just hear about them anymore.

It was almost 2:00am before she finally called it a night, kissing her father on the cheek and wishing everyone a safe flight out the next morning. She went up to her room and dropped on the bed, sighing happily. This was going to be her life for a year, hopefully more.

She couldn't think of a better way to spend it.

**WWF**

The week went by remarkably quick for Jaina. After spending Tuesday in San Antonio, courtesy of her father, she drove back to Victoria for the next three days, flying out to D.C. on Saturday. She'd always loved the nations capitol; there was no other place like it. She'd checked into the hotel right after arriving at Dulles, and then hit China Town, walking past the arena where RAW would be performed the following Monday night. She treated herself to some authentic Chinese cuisine (she was a sucker for Governors Chicken Que) and some shopping before retreating back to the hotel for a good nights sleep. She knew tomorrow that she'd be excited all over again, and sleeping as late as possibly would help her recover the sleep she knew she'd lose Sunday night.

At 3pm Sunday, Jaina blinked open bleary blue eyes and frowned. "Ugh...too much light," she muttered, climbing out of bed and stumbling over to the curtains to draw them shut. She stood for a moment and looked around, as though she were looking for something before padding her way back over to the bed and crashing back into it. She was going to be up really, really late that night, but she didn't care. Her body was such that, if she slept late in the day, her body wouldn't feel the exhaustion many people felt the next day after only having three or four hours of sleep.

"Food," she grumbled to herself, "I need food. Lot's of food..."

Shane may have thought that Jaina had lost all her tomboy ways, but lying on the bed in a over sized mens wife beater, sweat pants, and crying for food...well, at the end of the day, or at the beginning of the morning, which ever was preferred, Jaina acted like more of a man then most male's she knew.

After an hour, she'd managed to get a shower and change to head down stairs to the restaurant, deciding to dress casually; jeans with a belt, black pumps, and a black, button down short sleeved shirt. After taking a seat and flagging down a waiter, she ordered her lunch, or in this case, seeing the time, dinner, a coke, and a beer and set herself to waking up.

_This is one of those times I wish I had a cigarette on me_, she thought to herself. She'd stopped smoking about six months ago, but she'd been so used to drinking and smoking for three years prior that it was a hard habit to get out of. However, it was all part of her training program. She had to stop smoking.

Drinking was another story. Carbs, she could get read of, no problem.

"Looks like you and your dad have something in common."

Jaina smirked, recognizing the polished Connecticut accent. "Good morning, Shane."

"Morning? Jaina, it's...it's like, 4:30 right now." He slid into the booth opposite her as she half glared, have stared at him. "And?"

"Oookay...take it you're not a morning person." He chuckled when Jaina, in a deadpan way, shook her head her eyes not leaving his for a moment. "So," he continued, "what are we eating?"

Now, it was a full on glare that Shane received from Jaina. "Oh, wow, definitely not a morning person," Shane stopped a waiter, asking him for a menu which the young man promptly gave him.

"You take my food, I take your life."

"You're a violent girl, you know that?"

"Only when my dinner is in danger."

The man across from her chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." He ordered his food, then settled back with the drink the waiter had brought him. "Did you sleep on the plane or something?"

"Nah, I got here yesterday."

Shane raised an eyebrow. "Yesterday? Why?"

Jaina shrugged. "I like D.C. It has a lot of history that I'm interested in..." she shrugged, "just wanted the day to walk around the Mall, the capitol, see Arlington Cemetery...stuff like that." She cleared her throat. "I didn't think you'd be getting here this early either."

"I don't relish going right from the airport to the venue were showing at to sit in on meetings that last for hours on end," Shane explained, "so if the schedule permits I try to get to the host city the Sunday before."

They continued to make idle chatter, each telling the other about their week as they ate. When they were both full, Jaina asked for her side of the check, but Shane quickly intervened, insisting that he pay for both their meals.

"Shane, that's really sweet of you, but I can take care of it myself," she said, reaching for the debit card in her jeans. Unfortunately, Shane had his credit card readily accessible in the pocket of his sports coat and handed it to the server. "To late, I win." The waiter quickly took the card and both checks, heading to the back to process the payment. He had a feeling he wouldn't want to be in the middle of a fight over who paid the tab.

"Do you always do that?" Jaina asked, slightly annoyed.

"What, get my way?" Shane smiled sweetly at her, "yep, pretty much." Jaina shook her head as the waiter came back and Shane signed the bill, also remember to leave a nice tip for the young man. "Well, thank you," Jaina offered, drumming her fingers on the table. "I hope you know you didn't have to do that."

"I know," Shane tucked the card back in his breast pocket, "I wanted to." He got up and offered his hand, which Jaina accepted, the gesture bringing back the memory of last Monday's lunch with her friend. As they left the restaurant, Jaina looked up at him and suddenly stopped. "Did you want to do something later?" She rushed on before he could respond to her. "I mean, I don't have much to do and was just going to stay in the room, but if you're not busy later, maybe we could walk around...I could show you a little of the city if you're not that familiar with it."

Shane looked down at her, a small grin forming on his baby face. "Why Jaina Austin, are you asking me out on a date?"

Jaina bit out a laugh and looked away for a moment. "No, I'm asking you if you want to hang out with me later on tonight."

"Uh huh...yea, that's a date," Shane's eyes twinkled, watching a barely there, but still there pink hue rise on the girls cheeks.

"So far it's not anything yet, seeing as how you haven't said yes or no to it." She gently bit her bottom lip, not intending for the night end up as a date, but now hoping just a little bit that it would.

"Well, I have a conference call with my father and a few other people in about," he looked at his watch, "45 minutes or so. But afterwards...I'd love to."

"Okay," Jaina took a deep breath smiled, somewhat awkwardly, "I guess just...come to my room whenever you're ready. I'll be there." She turned to walk away, but Shane stopped her by calling her name.

"What room?" Shane nearly laughed out loud when he saw the expression on her face; she was mentally kicking herself for forgetting that vital piece of information. "411," she answered, "it's on the fourth floor."

"Hence the number four being the first number." For some reason, Shane just loved to watch her squirm, but she collected herself quickly and smiled at him as she turned around. "See you soon," she called over her shoulder, putting a little more sway into her hips. McMahon couldn't help but marvel at her; the girl certainly knew how to take control again, that was sure. Making his way to the elevator, Shane mentally patted himself on the back.

This was going to be a fun night.

**WWF**

Shane tapped his foot impatiently on the floor of his hotel room. The conference call had only been going for about 15 minutes and he was all ready to high tale it out of there. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the business calls; he did, it was just that tonight, he actually had something more fun to do then anything having to do with business.

"Shane, are you there?"

"Yea," he answered abruptly, knowing he'd missed a question from the Owner, who just happened to be his father, "yea, I'm here, what was that?"

"I was asking if you'd read over the revised ministry storyline for tomorrow night?"

"Yea, I have. Marks going to love it; he always did have a penchant for the mind games." Shane heard his father chuckle and knew that his failure to pay attention had been forgiven already. "That he does. I also want to make a last minute reel play for RAW involving some members of the ministry ganging up on Jaina."

"Sounds good, Dad," Shane said, willing for anything to happen to make the conversation shorter.

After a short revision of the phone meeting, Vince wished everyone a good night, telling them he'd be at the arena no later than 2pm to start the last round of meetings and production checks before the show. When Shane hung the phone up, he bounced from his chair into the bathroom, taking a quick shower before dressing in casual khaki's and a blue Ralph Lauren polo shirt. A sports jacket that came with the pants completed his look. _Perfect first date outfit_ he thought to himself, before grabbing his wallet and room key and heading down a floor to pick up Jaina.

Two weeks ago, if someone had told Shane that he'd be taking Jaina Austin out on a date, he would have calmly asked what the person was smoking so he could get an inside scoop on what it was like to be high. It wasn't that he didn't like Jaina; he liked her plenty. It was more of the fact that a year and a half ago, they were in two different places. He'd already long since graduated from Boston University, and she'd only just now graduated from Texas A&M. She was a bit of a tomboy back them too, and he'd looked at her as 'one of the guys' and not a female that he could see a romantic relationship with.

Now though, Jaina had traded the baggy overalls and braided hair for skirts, blouses, and a fresh, clean, pristine, feminine image. He had to admit she was a beautiful young woman. Plus, she'd done something for a few hours last week that a girl hadn't done for him in a long time; held his attention without a problem. He was intrigued by her, and more than that, he wanted to know more about her, know _her_.

Reaching her door, he knocked on it and stepped back. He heard her ask for a moment. Shane stood out in the hallway, rocking from toe to heel until the sound of a door opening made him focus his attention back front.

"Hey!"

"Hello," Shane looked at her appreciatively. She'd decided the slightly dressy route was the way to go, just like he did. A pair of black, sliming slacks and beige, off the shoulder, long sleeved shirt with thick heels adorned her body. Not a fan of make-up, he was happy to see that she'd gone the more natural route, only putting on a few cosmetics. "You ready to go?" he asked, stepping inside her room and looking around, not that there was much to look at...

Well, except for her.

"I will be, just as soon as I get my purse-" Jaina was lying on the bed, reaching over the side for the accessory when she came up victorious. "Got it!" She quickly grabbed her room key and chucked it inside, heading back into the bath room to brush out the curls she'd placed in her hair. When she came out, Shane appreciated her even more; her hair, tightly curled when he'd arrived now fell in waves around her shoulders, a softness that complimented her southern features. When she was finished, she stood in front of him.

"You uh..." Shane was rarely at a loss for words, but this was one of those moments. Luckily, Jaina saved him from any embarrassment he might cause himself. "You too," she said shyly, "you wanna go?"

Shane nodded, once again offering his arm, and Jaina took it, fast becoming used to the chivalrous way in which Shane treated women. He really was quite the gentlemen; Vince had certainly raised his son with old fashioned values.

They started in Chinatown, taking the yellow line metro near their hotel to the small city. What Jaina loved most about Chinatown, she explained to Shane, was the food. It was completely and totally authentic and many small eateries made the food right in front of you. However, neither was hungry yet as they'd only eaten a few hours earlier, and they continued on their trek. As they walked down 7th, Jaina pointed out various restaurants, cultural shops, and small boutiques that were her favorites. After they'd had their fill of that, Jaina led Shane to the nearest metro station and they hopped on a train.

"Where are you taking me now?" he asked, not knowing the landscape of D.C. nearly as well as Jaina. Well, not knowing the landscape of D.C. at all, actually.

"You'll see," was all she said, smiling secretly. Shane sighed dramatically, complaining that she never let him in on where they were going. "Well, if you want, I can leave you here and let you find your own way back to our hotel," she suggested. Then Shane did something that made her heart melt; he gave her puppy dog eyes. She laughed out loud and placed her hands on his cheeks. "You're so cute," she cooed, moving his head from side to side. "To cute to be left out here to fend for myself?" he replied hopefully

"Yes, too cute for that," she agreed. In a few minutes, they were off the train and making their way up the concrete steps of Federal Triangle Metro Station back into the city. "Where are we?" he asked her, but Jaina didn't answer, just took his hand and led him down the street. Shane had the sneaking suspicion that he should know where he was, but he just couldn't place it in his mind.

A few minutes later, Jaina came to a slow stop and grinned up at him. "Here we are." She nodded to their right and Shane turned to look, taking in the sight before him.

"Wow," was all he said.

He was looking at The White House, in all it's nightly splendor. The lights lit the grand home up like a beacon, allowing him to see the fountain consistently flowing in a beautifully landscaped yard, the ever present giant chandelier hanging in the foyer outside. It was truly a majestic sight.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

All Shane could do was nod his head; he really was at a loss for words. He wasn't a huge fan of politics or government, or anything like it. He knew what he needed to know, but that was about it. But looking at The White House unlocked an appreciation for democracy that he hadn't known he possessed.

After taking in the sight in front of him, Shane looked at her in wonder, "How do you know so much about D.C.?"

"I had the chance to intern at the British Embassy here a few summers ago. I got credit for it for my British Studies minor. I worked here for the summer, then went back to school in the fall. It was...probably one of the greatest experiences in my life, probably one of the best I'll ever have." She took a deep breath, shivering slightly. She'd forgotten that the D.C. nights didn't really start to warm up until mid-May.

"Cold?"

"Nah," she replied, still looking at The White House, "just acclimating to the temperature change." They stood there admiring the sight for a few more minutes before Jaina tugged on her date's hand. "Want to see something else?"

"Absolutely," Shane agreed. Jaina once again took the lead, heading back to the metro station and hopping a train to the Federal Center SW Metro. When their stop came up, they strolled off the car and up the steps heading down the street until they came upon the Marriott Resident Inn.

"Jaina, you know we already have hotel room's right?" Shane joked as they walked in. "Funny boy," Jaina smirked, walking up to the front desk. "Is the observation floor still open?"

"Yes ma'am, for about another half hour or so. Are you staying here?"

"Oh, no, I just wanted to show my friend something for moment. I hope that's okay?"

The woman behind the desk nodded. "That's perfectly fine. The floor number is 12."

"Thanks!" She walked over to the elevator with Shane behind her and took it to the correct floor, stepping off when it was their time and walking down the hall a little ways. "Observation floor?" Shane mused. "What are we going to be observing?"

"You'll see," Jaina answered, the same as when he'd asked about the first surprise she had in store for him.

"You like making me wait don't you? You get some kind of perverse pleasure from it, right?" Shane asked, and Jaina only batted her eyes at him. "Good things come to those who wait, remember?" They walked by a series of windows looking out, and Shane immediately saw what he'd been led to see; The Capitol building.

"When the architects of the District of Columbia sat down at the drawing board, the one thing they wanted to make sure of was that they created a city that would intimidate foreign heads of state," Jaina explained as Shane took in the sight before him, "and they decided to model D.C. after Athens, not only because of the symbolic democracy that Athens held, but because their architecture was powerful and full of light and hope all at the same time." She ambled forward, resting her hands on the wooden railing separating her from the tall, thick windows. "When I did my internship, I stayed at a different hotel, not one nearly as nice as this, but I'd hop the metro over here just to see this a few nights a week. I never get tired of looking at it..."

Shane watched her face, completely mesmerized by the sight, and he couldn't blame her. Seeing the capitol on television or a picture of it in a magazine was one thing, but being in front of it, at night, seeing it lit up and standing proud was awe inspiring. "I know it's probably not what you planned on doing tonight," she continued, still looking at the structure in front of her, "but I thought maybe you'd enjoy it."

"I did...I do," he said softly stepping up behind her, "I never really got the chance to walk around D.C. much; I stuck to the hotels and airports mostly when I came down here. Seeing it like this though..." he shook his head, "I don't even have words for it."

"There's a bit of the romantic in you, Mr. McMahon."

"There's a lot of the romantic in me, Miss. Austin." He took a chance on that moment, reaching his arms around her waste and pulling her toward him gently. When she didn't resist, he held her there firmly, but not tightly, gazing out at the scene in front of them and resting his chin on her head, perfectly content to stay where he was for a long time.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," said a voice, "but we'll be closing the observation floor in a few minutes." The couple looked at the woman who'd spoken, and she truly did look apologetic. "That's alright," Shane said, taking his dates hand, "we were about ready to go anyway." The clerk nodded her head and left them to take in the sight for a few more minutes.

"Ready?" Shane whispered, and Jaina nodded, sighing slightly. She really didn't want to leave that perfect moment and perfect spot, but, c'est la vie.

"10:00pm and the night is young," Shane announced as they walked out of the lobby of the hotel and onto the street, "and I'm hungry." Jaina laughed out loud. "So, I take it we're eating then?"

"We are. Where do you want to go?"

"Well, I've spent the whole night going where I want to go. How about you pick a place?"

"Well, if you insist," Shane picked up her hand again and led them down the sidewalk, passing a variety of restaurants and cafe's. When they came upon the Capitol Grill, Shane opened the door for Jaina and led them into the upscale, softly lit restaurant. The tables were immaculately set with white table cloths and cherry oak, leather chairs, each table having a covered candle as a center piece.

Their conversation was lively, delving into everything from storylines for RAW and potential matches and conflicts, to Jaina explaining what intrigued her about Great Britain and Shane discussing what it was like growing up as the son of Vince McMahon. When it came time for the check, it was Jaina that swiped the book from the server, telling the girl there was an extra $25 tip in it for her if she gave her the bill. Casting a look at Shane, the girl simply said, "I'm sorry, Sir, I can't betray the sisterhood," and handed the bill to Jaina, who smiled.

"That wasn't fair, you ganged up on me," Shane grumbled as Jaina took out her credit card and slipped it into the book. "Oh, like you ganged up on me earlier today?"

"That's different."

"How?"

"I'm the man, I'm supposed to pay for your meals."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

Shane looked at her as though it were obvious. "Eat."

Jaina laughed, handing the book back to the waitress. "I did. And now I'm paying." She stuck her tongue out. "Oh that's mature." Shane rolled his eyes, taking down the last of his wine and standing up. "Make sure you leave a generous tip," he joked, putting on his jacket.

"I always do," Jaina replied, remembering the small barb from their lunch the previous Monday, "especially since I told her there was extra incentive for her to listen to me."

The trip back to their hotel was relaxed one, both of them engaged in a quiet conversation about the next days schedules.

"You want to know something funny?" Jaina asked out of the blue as they walked back to their hotel from the metro station. Shane waited, his face the picture of interest.

"Last Monday, I'd gone down to the bar to have a drink and I ran into Mark," she recounted, "and he wanted to know what was going on with you and me."

"What did you tell him?" Shane asked, really wanting to know.

"I told him nothing," she shrugged, "it wasn't a lie; you and I had lunch, that was it."

They walked into the hotel, greeting the desk clerks as they headed to the lounge and sat down on one of the sofa's. "And now?" Shane leaned back, watching her calmly.

"Now..." she ducked her head, "I don't know." She looked away, suddenly shy, but Shane guided her face back to look at his with a soft hand. "Hey, don't do that."

She frowned. "Don't do what?"

"Look away," he clarified, "I can't see your face when you do that."

"Well, unfortunately, I think my face is about as red as a tomato right now," she nervously laughed out.

"Do you know how long it's been since I've gone out with a woman and actually had fun?" he asked her. She shook her head. "Well, it's been a long time. Over a year at least. I don't know about you, but I think there's something here that we should explore...that is, if you want to, I don't want to put any pressure on you or anything like that." He watched Jaina fiddle with her fingers, biting her lower lip. He was quickly learning that gesture meant one of two things; she was either nervous and unsure, or she didn't quite know how to say a thought that was roaming around in her head.

"Jaina," he prodded her softly after a few moments of silence, "we don't have to talk about this now. In fact, we don't ever have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just...wanted to let you know how I felt...how I feel about you, right now."

"How _do_ you feel about me?" she asked, still looking at her hands. "We've only hung out together a couple of times...I mean..." she laughed nervously, trailing off.

"That's true...but isn't that usually how things like this start?" Shane asked. "As for how I feel about you...I'm not professing my undying love for you or anything like that, but...I like you, I like being with you, being around you, talking to you..." he scratched his chin, wondering if he should say exactly what he was thinking or if doing that he might scare her off. He decided to take a chance.

"You know last Monday when we were driving back from lunch?"

Jaina nodded, smiling a little.

"We held each others hands the whole way back, and when we had to get out of the car...I didn't want to let you go."

Jaina's breathing hitched slightly in her throat at that revelation, but Shane pressed on.

"Then earlier tonight when we were walking around D.C. ...I can't tell you how comfortable I felt with you. I wasn't lying when I told you I was glad that you showed me around tonight; you could have taken me to the city dump for all I cared, and I wouldn't have minded because I would've been with you. You had such a passion for the city and I loved hearing you talk about it because _you_ loved talking about it. And do you want to know something else?"

She nodded, now looking at him, riveted by what he was saying.

"The entire time this week I was looking forward to Monday, not because of the next show, but because I would see you again." He watched her smile, and he returned the gesture.

"Really?"

"Really." Shane assured her. "You're...you're fun, your imaginative, your smart and witty, you have a confidence about you that not many women your age have, and...and you're beautiful, inside and out. I like being with you; I'd like to continue being with you...like this...that is, if you'll have me."

It wasn't that Jaina was shocked, it was just that she hadn't foreseen this happening. Of course, she'd thought about it once or twice over the week, but she hadn't actually believed that she and Shane would start dating. But now that he was sitting in front of her, looking at her with penetrating brown eyes and baring his heart and soul to her...

How could she say no? It wasn't like she didn't want him too.

"I..." she took a deep breath, looking away from him for a moment, then slowly focusing on him again, "I'd love that," she finally said. "It's been a while since I had a guy take me out just to be with me, rather than take me out just because I happen to have a famous father."

"We're on the same page there," Shane agreed, "a lot of the women I've dated were only in it for the money. Some of them weren't, but the ones that weren't didn't like me being away from them for very long. They couldn't take the distance."

"Well, I guess you won't have that problem anymore," Jaina joked, "this should be perfect for you."

"And for you too, hopefully," Shane murmured.

"It kinda already is."

"Well damn. Then this'll be great; I won't have much work to do past this to make you happy, if it's already perfect that is."

"Oh, no," Jaina shook her head, poking him in the chest, "I still expect to be treated like a lady and get a phone call every now and then!" Shane grasped her hand and pulled her toward him, wrapping strong arms around her, holding her to him. She tipped her head up to him, exploring his eyes with her own. She'd never noticed how deep of a brown they were, but looking at them up close, she could see flecks of gold as well.

"I think all of that can be arranged," he murmured. He sat there holding her, looking at her face before lowering his mouth to hers, stopping just before his lips met her own, silently asking permission to seal their new status as a couple. When she didn't pull away, he closed the distance, giving her a soft, sweet kiss. It was difficult for him not to deepen the embrace, but he kept his control, knowing that they were still in the hotel lobby. He wouldn't show that deep kind of affection in public to anyone. It simply wasn't how he did things.

He felt Jaina moving her mouth tentatively underneath his own. She was nervous and tense, he could feel it in her back as he held her, and he hoped that he was masking his own anxiety. It certainly wasn't how either of them had expected things to end up, but neither of them was sorry that it was.

When she finally pulled away, ending their first kiss, and first of many, Jaina silently hoped, she stood up and held her hand out to him. "It's late," was all she said, and he nodded. He needed to be up fairly early tomorrow and be at the arena to over see the arrival of the production trucks and equipment. He took her hand and walked with her to the elevators, getting off on her floor and walking her to her room.

"I don't think I told you how much fun I had tonight." She leaned against her door, still holding his hand. "I'm...I'm really happy that we...you know..."

"Are dating?" He supplied, stepping forward and taking her other hand, "that makes two of us." He frowned for a moment, as though he had just remembered something, and in all actuality, he had. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned that maybe he was having second thoughts.

"Nothing," he answered quickly, cupping her face, kissing her forehead and smiling down at her.

"I just...well, I was thinking about something...someone actually..."

"Who?"

"Your father."

"Oh..." That brought Jaina down from her high almost immediately. It wasn't that her father didn't _like_ Shane. She was sure he liked him fine. It was just that she knew her father would find a problem with Shane because...well, facing the facts, she was her fathers only daughter. He was protective and he wanted only the best for her, and that included the men she dated.

"Don't worry," she reassured him, "he'll be alright. He really does like you Shane, he just doesn't show it. It's not his way. He likes beating people with a stick; it's how he shows his love."

"That or a two by four," Shane muttered. Jaina smiled. "That too." When Shane didn't look like he was going to get his mind off of that little issue for a while, Jaina slinked a hand around the back of his neck. "Don't. Worry." she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," was all Shane could reply before he kissed her again. While their first kiss had been shy and sweet, this one was fuller and bolder, each of them dueling with the other for control. It was Jaina who finally submitted, allowing Shane to push her gently against her door as he sought entry to her mouth. When she admitted him, she inadvertently let out a small, soft moan as his tongue caressed her own perfectly. Neither of them knew how long they stood in the hallway, and neither of them cared, but when they both finally pulled away, they were out of breath, looking at the other in wonder.

"We're going to have to do that again sometime soon," Shane managed to get out. Jaina only nodded.

"I'd better let you go before...well, before things get out of hand." Shane stepped back from her and watched as she opened the door. "Lunch tomorrow?"

"Yea," she grinned, "lunch tomorrow. You'll be at the arena?"

"Yea."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Shane watched as she closed the door, hearing the soft click of the lock before he turned away and walked back to the elevator. This had been one of the best nights he'd had in a long time, and as he walked into the elevator and pressed the number 5, he had a feeling tonight was the start of something that he would cherish the rest of his life.

**WWF**

Jaina was up extra early to get ready for her lunch with Shane. She was to meet him at the arena, and then they'd both go to lunch together.

She found that when they met up, instead of falling into a shy routine where they would give each other quick glances and soft smiled, they fell into a comfortable companionship, Shane taking her by the hand and ushering her into his rental car.

At the restaurant it was the same thing; they were very at ease with each other, having passed the scary first hurtle of admitting how they felt about one another and showing it as well. The waiter even asked how long they'd been together. When Shane answered 'not even 24 hours yet', the waiter couldn't hide his surprise.

"They way you've been acting, I would have thought a lot longer than that," he'd said before leaving them to their food. And each other.

Unfortunately, they couldn't stay there forever; Shane had to get back and continue over seeing the set up of the ring, the production truck, and have a few more meetings with the writers. However, he told Jaina that Stephanie would be making an appearance tonight and would actually be arriving at the arena shortly.

"If you want, you can hang out with her while you wait for your father," he'd suggested, and Jaina readily accepted. She hadn't seen Stephanie in a while and it would be good to catch up with the girl again. Stephanie was only about a year younger than Jaina was, and the two girls had a lot in common surprisingly.

The ride back to the arena was short, to short for either ones liking, but alas, work had to be done to pull off an amazing show later that night. Just as they pulled into the employee receiving lot, a limousine pulled up beside them. Shane grinned, "there's Sis."

As Jaina stepped out of the car, he cut the engine off and joined her, walking over to the other side to open his sister's door. "Hey there," he greeted, offering a hand to help her out. Stephanie smiled at him brightly and rewarded his chivalry with a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. "Hey big brother!"

"How was the flight?"

"A bit of a bumpy landing but nothing to bad," she answered, reaching back into the car to grab her purse. When she turned around, Jaina was standing next to Shane and Stephanie smiled just as brightly at her. "I am so happy you're here!" She wrapped Jaina up in a hug, pulling back after a few moments and looking at Shane.

"So, how are you two?"

"Jeez, we're a two already, huh?" He joked.

"Don't stiff me here, Shane, I want all the details." Stephanie was grinning from ear to ear, her blue eyes darting back and forth between her brother and his new girlfriend.

"Well, you'll have to get the details from Jaina. I have to go back to work." Shane kissed his sister on the cheek one more time before giving a peck on the mouth to Jaina. "See you later," he bade them goodbye and walked back into the MCI arena, leaving Jaina and Stephanie by the car.

"He's talked about nothing but you for the entire week," Stephanie informed Jaina as they walked into the arena, "every time he called me, after we were done talking business, the conversation always got steered to you."

Jaina giggled nervously, "well, I'm glad to be a hot topic," she said, "I don't even know where it came from. It was just like...we saw each other last week for the first time in a while and now we're dating." She shook her head, still taking it all in.

"I think it's fantastic," Stephanie exclaimed, "Shane threw himself into his work after his last break up. It's really good to see him not focusing so much time on his work and more on a person. By the way, you look really good."

"Thanks, I've been getting that a lot lately," Jaina brushed her hair back from her face as they reached the McMahon's locker room, "so, what's on the table for tonight? I hear you're going to be showing your appreciation for Dad 'saving' you."

"Oh yea. After being rescued from the Big Bad Undertaker what other way to thank him than by a public show of gratitude?" The youngest McMahon sat her purse down and flopped on the couch. "I hear they're working you into our storyline?"

"That's what I hear. I, however, found out on my first night how quickly the scripts can change around here."

"Oh, when the Ministry came out and attacked your Dad?"

Jaina gave a look of exasperation. "Did everyone know about that before I did?"

"Hey, _I_ didn't know they were going to kidnap me and throw me into a basement with a sign on my forehead. They just came into my locker room and that was all she wrote."

The two women sat and talked for about an hour before Jaina left to meet her father. On the way to his assigned room, she pondered when and what exactly she was going to tell him. _It would probably be better to tell him after the show...no distractions that way_ she reasoned with herself as she reached the locker room and opened the door. "Dad?" she called, seeing his bag on one of the benches.

Jaina heard a door open and looked toward the noise, seeing her father walk out wearing jeans, boots, and one of his trademark Austin 3:16 shirts. He walked over, giving her a hug. "How was your weekend? I didn't get to talk to you much," he asked, pulling back from her. Jaina could feel her cheeks getting red, but she mentally shook herself. "It was good, really good. I had a lot of fun. San Antonio was nice too, thanks again, Dad."

"Hey, you earned it," Steve sat down on one of the benches, "oh, and by the way, happy birthday, merry Christmas, happy New Year-"

"Yea, yea, yea...you always say that when you give me a great present and every time you 'forget' you said it. Speaking of my birthday, it's coming up in two months; what are you gettin' me?" She grinned, hearing him bark out a laugh. "What, do I look like I'm made of money?"

"Dad, you're wearing a shirt with one of your most famous sayings on it."

Austin looked down at the print on his shirt. "Oh yea..."

"So, I've got the script...handicapped match with the Edge and Christian, huh?"

"As long as it doesn't change, that's what's on the schedule, main event around 10:40pm or so. Undertaker's gonna set it up tonight when we go out there."

"Sounds good." Jaina took a seat across from her father, crossing her legs and drumming her fingers in thought. She really wanted to tell him right now about her and Shane, but she knew it would be best to wait until after RAW. He had a ton of things floating through his mind right now; he didn't need her love life added onto it.

"Jaina?"

"Hmmm?"

"Did you want a drum set for your birthday?"

"_What?"_ She looked at him as though he'd lost his mind. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"By the way you've been drummin' a beat into the seat over there for the past few minutes."

"Oh." Her fingers froze. Austin frowned at her.

"Anything you wanna talk about?"

She could have said no, but she didn't want to lie. Of course there was something she wanted to talk about! It just had to wait. "I can tell you after the show, Dad, it's not important right now."

"You sure?" Steve prodded. He was very lucky in having a daughter who wasn't tight lipped about her life. He liked to know what was going on with her, even if it was something he didn't exactly agree with. They had a very close relationship, and he wanted to keep it that way. So, when she nodded, he backed off, knowing she would tell him later.

"Alright, let's go through our moves tonight."

_**WWF**_

The lights went out.

That was the first sign of trouble for RAW, and being that they were only ten seconds into the program, that was a bad sign for how the rest of the night was going to go. But when the Ministry's music wafted through the speakers and into the coliseum type hall, trouble very quickly turned into _deep_ trouble. Smoke rose from the steel plates of the stage and onto the ramp, rolling down and over the crowd in thick plooms.

And out of no where, a tall, large, and foreboding figure loomed. Small minions crowded around him, but there was no doubt that the focus was the Undertaker as he made his way down the ramp, his Ministry clearing the way for him as he stepped into the ring, a microphone in his hand already. As he ordered the lights up, the crowd got their first good look at him. His hair was slicked back, his massive, black leather warrior cloak adorning an impressive figure, and he looked down right pissed.

"Last week, Austin, you got a taste of what is in store for you and anyone else who stands with you. But in two weeks, you won't have anyone to save you like you did last week. Whether you accept it or not, you _will_ be sacrificed to my ministry at Over the Edge."

"As for anyone else who sees fit mettle in the affairs of those that aren't their own...you have been warned. Beginning tonight, the Ministry of Darkness takes no prisoners; you will either be sacrificed, or you will _burn in Hell!"_

The Undertakers music hit once more, bringing an end to the opening of Raw, and the beginning of a show that would change Raw for many days to come.

_**WWF**_

"What are you going to do?"

Jaina stood in the locker room with her father, her arms crossed over her chest as she sat, watching Austin pace around the room like a caged animal. He stopped for only a second to look at her, then continued his pacing, his thinking.

"Dad," her voice was more forceful this time, "what are you thinking?"

"What the hell do you think I'm thinking? That son of a bitch is out there callin' me out, tellin' me he's gonna sacrifice anyone who I'm associated with," he stopped in front of her, his hands on his hips, "for the first time in my life, I'm actually agreeing with somethin' Vince said; I shoulda left you at home."

"That didn't seem to help Stephanie out much," Jaina shot back, "and I won't hole up at home like some poor, pathetic damsel in distress. That wasn't how you raised me."

Austin clicked his tongue a few times.

"No, I guess it wasn't."

_**WWF**_

Stephanie McMahon stopped in front of the door and gently knocked. When it opened, Jaina Austin was standing in front of her, looking slightly perplexed as to the reason why the daughter of her fathers most hated enemy would be coming to call.

"Hi," Stephanie managed to get out, "um...I was wondering if I could maybe talk to your Dad for a second?" Jaina opened the door a little wider to let the other woman in the room. She scratched her neck, not knowing clearly how to proceed. "He's not here right now; he's somewhere blowing off steam but um...I mean, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well, you know I wasn't here last week because of...well, because I needed to get my head on straight again after what happened two weeks ago. But the reason I'm able to do that is because of your father and I was kind of hoping that he'd be here so I could thank him myself." She looked at Jaina and knew that she was having a hard time believing her words. "Look, I know that your father and my father aren't on the best of terms."

"That's putting it lightly, Stephanie; they down right hate each other." Austin crossed her arms. She wasn't sure what to make of this; Jaina didn't trust Vince as far as she could throw him, but she honestly couldn't picture Stephanie trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Steve Austin.

"I was trying to put it in a more diplomatic way, but...yea," Stephanie chuckled nervously, wringing her hands together, "I know he's got no reason to talk to me and I know he really doesn't like anyone in my family, but either way...I just want to show my appreciation for what he did for me."

Jaina considered the options. Stephanie seemed sincere, but she'd seen Vince screw her father more than once pretty sincerely as well. However, the girl was by herself, she didn't bring any muscle with her...what could she possibly do?

"I'll tell you what," she finally said, "I'm about to walk out to the ring and ask someone to come out so that I can do the same thing for them that you want to do for my father. As long as we're thanking people, why don't we do it together?" She gauged Stephanie's reaction very carefully, and was pretty satisfied that the goal of coming to the locker room really was to thank her father, not get Jaina out into the ring where bad things could happen.

"That sounds like a good idea."

_**WWF**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the ring Stephanie McMahon and Jaina Austin!"

"Well, King this is...this is definitely a surprise, a welcome one at that, but a surprise none the less. Who would have thought that we'd see these two young ladies walking down the ramp to the ring together?" J.R. watched the titontron carefully, as though he wasn't quite sure if it really was an Austin and a McMahon walking down the ramp together.

"I gotta say, this is probably one of the strangest and potentially explosive moments that I've ever seen, I mean, you've got the boss's daughter and the daughter of the boss's worst enemy walking down here together, for what we don't know, but there they are, and they have mic's and it looks like they're hopefully going to tell us."

Jaina and Stephanie entered the ring, the latter having to go under the middle rope due to the skirt she was wearing, while Jaina was able to go over the middle rope. She was quite comfortable in her jeans, and she didn't quite understand why Stephanie wore skirts to wrestling events, but hey, to each her own. They stood in the center of the ring, both of them with their own mic's and looked at each other, as if asking who should go first. Eventually, Jaina stepped back, letting Stephanie have the floor.

"I know it's kind of strange for everyone to see myself and Jaina Austin out here together, but both of us have something to say about the events of the past couple of weeks." Stephanie said, and immediately the crowd grew silent, or close to it. "But there are some things we need to say to two..." she turned around, a questioning look on her face to Jaina, and the latter nodded that yes, two people were all that needed to be thanked for right now, "two people tonight. So, for my part, if he can hear me, I would like to ask Steve Austin to come out to the ring please."

She faced the titontron, patiently waiting for the man to show himself, but after about half a minute of waiting, Stephanie looked at Jaina suddenly unsure that about this being a good idea.

"Dad, please come out here. Stephanie came to me alone, on her own...she just wants to say something to do you. Please come out."

A few seconds later, Austin's music hit and Jaina watched her father stalk out, and it appeared he was in no more a better mood now than he was before. In fact, he seemed even more perturbed. He practically vaulted into the ring and walked a circle around both girls, giving his daughter a less than pleased look. "What the Hell are you doin' out here!?" he yelled at her.

"Steve, Steve!" Stephanie tried to step in and calm him down. "Look, she's out here because of me...we have some things that we want to say to some people, Steve and...and I just wanted to tell you thank you. Thank you for what you did for me two weeks ago."

Austin honestly didn't know what to think about this entire situation. He had The Undertaker after him, and he knew it was just a matter of time before the bastard set his sights on Jaina, just like he'd done to Vince's daughter. He had to struggle to keep his temper under control; did she have any idea how much danger she'd just put herself in?

He took the mic from Stephanie and paced a few steps before finally looking at the both of them again. "You're welcome. Jaina, let's go."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Jaina didn't move, but Austin had one foot out the ring already. He motioned at Jaina to follow him, but she shook her head; absolutely not. "I will _not_ hide away in some little locker room and wait for the Ministry to make their move on me, _if_ they ever do make their move. I am not a coward! Now I came out here for one reason tonight and that was to thank one of the guys that saved my ass last Monday night, and I am not leaving until I do that!"

Steve shook his head, but moved back into the ring, walking up to his daughter and looking at her closely. She returned his glare with a fierce, determined one of her own, her icy blue eyes brokering no bargain. She was going to do this, if she had to do it being dragged back down the ramp.

But she didn't want that. "Dad, okay...how about this. You let me do this, let me thank the person I want to thank, and then, for the rest of the night, I'll stay with you, where ever you go or I'll stay where you tell me to..."

It didn't look like Austin was too keen on that idea, but when Jaina pleaded with him once more, he dropped his head, knowing he'd lost that particular battle of wills, not to mention the fact that there was a blossom of pride in his heart for her wanting to stand tall. He stepped back and leaned against the turnbuckle, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble.

"Shane McMahon, would you please make your way to the ring?"

"_What?_" Austin looked at her, certain that she'd lost her mind. McMahon? She wanted to thank _him?_ Jaina ignored the shocked look she knew her father was sending her way and instead focused her attention at the top of the ramp as Shane's music hit. She caught the confused look on his face as he made his way down, but none the less she assured him that yes, he was the one she wanted to talk to.

As Shane made his way into the ring, he gave a wary glance at Stone Cold, who looked like he would rather stun the man right now than have his daughter show her gratitude towards him. None the less, he kept his distance, but also kept his own focus on the eldest child of Vince as he walked to stand a few feet in front of Jaina.

"Last Monday night, I was against those ropes and the Undertaker had me cornered," Jaina pointed to the ropes behind her, "he'd had the Ministry beat my father until he was unconscious, and all I could think about was getting to him. I don't know what the Undertaker was planning to do with me, and it's not a subject I like to spend a lot of time thinking about, but what ever it was, you stopped it. You allowed me to get to my father, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for that."

Shane was some what surprised by the gesture. He looked to Stephanie as if to ask her 'is this for real', and Stephanie only nodded, motioning for him to say something back to her, anything at all, a 'you're welcome' would have been great. He leaned forward into the mic that Jaina held out for him. "It was my pleasure," he told her, nodding his head as he did so, "I did it for my sister too, but I was happy to help you out." His mouth curved upwards into a boyish grin and Jaina, for a moment, couldn't help but be slightly mesmerized by him.

And her father didn't like it one bit.

"Alright, ya said thank you, now let's go!" Austin parted the ropes for Jaina to walk through, but just as her foot hit the other side, she noticed someone on the tron in front of her and froze.

The Undertaker.

Somewhere in the haze of all the fans yelling, she heard her father order her back into the ring, and she didn't argue with him this time as he stepped in front of her, the mic still in his hand. Shane stood near the small group and looked around, his sight landing on Jaina. He motioned for the mic and she handed it to him. Stephanie and Jaina's time for talking was done. Before he could speak however, the Undertaker beat him to it.

"Many have spoken as you do now," he began, and there was no question as to who the Undertaker was addressing. Jaina fixed her hands to her hips and arched an eyebrow. She absolutely refused to show this demon any fear, "and you should know that those who seek to stand up to the darkness only wind up falling in the end. That is why my Ministry is so powerful. They accept the darkness, they respect it, they fear it...and that's why they serve it. They know that with out it, they are nothing, powerless over their own lives."

"Austin, last week, you only got a small taste of what will happen to you at Over the Edge, but tonight...perhaps you'll get the full picture. Edge and Christian have served me well, and as a reward, I've given them permission to face you tonight. Mark my words, Austin, after tonight, you _will_ know evil, and you will accept your fate. At Over the Edge, you will either sacrifice yourself to my ministry or you will burn in eternal damnation!"

"Well, how about this, Undertaker, cause I gotta tell ya, I'm sick and tired of listening to your little prophecies about this is gonna happen and that's gonna happen," Stone Cold pointed at the titontron, "if you're so sure, why wait till Over the Edge, why don't we just end this right now! You're draggin' your dead carcass around here spewin' all kinds of threats and sendin' your little vampires after me, come and get me yourself!"

"All in due time, Austin. You see, that's always been you're problem; your willingness to rush into things gets you into trouble that you otherwise might have avoided. Take two weeks ago for instance." The Undertakers eyes shifted just slightly, just enough so that Stephanie could feel the glare of death on her, and she looked visibly shaken. She stepped closer to her brother, who put his arm around her in silent support; he'd be damned if that bastard ever hurt her again.

"You interfered in business that wasn't yours to deal with. And now, you _will_ pay the price. And Austin; while sacrificing you is my ultimate goal, I can make you pay in many other ways, ways that your feeble mind couldn't possibly comprehend; and I wouldn't even have to touch you to do it."

Before either Steve or Shane could say anything, the screen went blank, and the Undertaker went off the air, leaving four people standing in the ring, staring at the figure that had once been in front of them. As Shane opened the ropes for his sister and Jaina, Austin couldn't take his eyes off his little girl. He'd gotten the Undertakers message.

If Austin wouldn't relent on his own, the Dead Man would find a way to make him, by any means necessary.

_**WWF**_

"Master, Austin is restless. He is becoming irrational. Because of his actions, we will soon be able to call him one of us." The Undertaker knelt in front of a man in a dark burgundy cloak, his face hidden by the cowl. It was just the two of them in a room, a small fire lit behind the tall, unknown man.

"I want Steve Austin at Over the Edge," the man rasped, and the Undertaker seemed to bow his head even lower, "you will have him, Master. I will defeat him, and I will sacrifice him to your greatness."

"And if you lose?"

"I will not."

"If you do?"

The Undertaker grinned, raising his head to look at the man he served. "Then I will take the appropriate action to bring him in line. The WWF will be yours for the taking, and anyone who stands in our way will face destruction at my hands, personally." The man nodded, easing back into his chair. "Have you chosen a replacement?"

"I have, Master."

"Good. I realize this will take time, but make no mistake; you and those who follow you must carry on my work. Your window is limited, Undertaker. See that you achieve your goals soon."

_**WWF**_

Jaina stepped out of the locker room and walked down the hall. Her mouth had gone continually dry for the past hour. Now, her fathers match was in ten minutes, and she wanted a bottle of water before she went. She walked the halls carefully, looking around every corner before she crossed the intersection until she finally made it to catering.

She pursed her lips and smoothed her hair behind her ears. It was two against one tonight, the two vampires against her father...more like the entire Ministry against her father. They'd struggled on whether or not she should attend him to the ring, but in the end, Austin didn't want Jaina out of his sight, and if being at the ring was the only way he could half way keep an eye on her, then that was what was going to happen.

She grabbed a bottle of water and turned, only to nearly walk into Shane, who was reaching for a bottle himself.

"Sorry," she said quickly, holding a hand to her heart, "wasn't paying attention." She looked up at Shane, then looked around.

"Jaina?"

"Yea?" She answered, but she was still watching her surroundings carefully. She'd be damned if she was caught off guard by the Undertaker again. She could hear Shane saying something, but there was nothing but a buzzing sound in her ear, like that of an annoying fly.

"Jaina!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry..." Jaina looked up at him, and she saw true concern in his eyes for her. "What did you say?"

"I just...well, you didn't need to thank me tonight. I wasn't about to let what happened to my baby sister happen to another woman, so..." he trailed off, getting a good look at her now that her focus was solely on him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? The Undertaker is sending his Ministry to tear my father apart, that's what's wrong!" She practically yelled at him, her breathing beginning to hitch. Shane pulled her off to the side into a small hallway so that those near catering wouldn't see her small nervous break down. "Why is he doing this?" Jaina asked. "I don't understand, I mean...okay, my father interrupted his sick wedding to your sister, but it was even before that..." She shook her head, not really understanding why she was breaking down in front of Shane of all people, but she'd been affected by the Undertakers speech more than she let on. She was just good at hiding it. As the hour for Austin's match came closer though, she'd slowly started to unravel.

"It's not going to be just Edge and Christian, it's going to be the entire damn Ministry! They're going to sneak out there and try to kill him, and I'm not going to be able to do a thing..." She leaned her head against the wall and blinked back tears, and while she tried to get herself under control, she felt strong, large hands settle softly on her shoulders.

"Jaina, I'm not gonna lie to you...your Dad's made a lot of enemies, and the Undertaker is one of them. But there _are _a lot of people in that locker room who may not like your father, but the respect him. You never know...a few of them might come out of the wood work if that does happen."

Jaina nodded. "Yea..." she took a few deep breaths, immediately feeling and showing embarrassment at having lost her cool like that. "Look um...I'm sorry bout all this...but his match is gonna start soon and...I need to be there to walk with him." Without turning back, Jaina gently shrugged off Shane's hands and headed down the hall in a hurry, wanting to get back to the locker room as soon as possible. All Shane could do was look after her, a mix of sympathy, respect, and admiration on his face.

"That's one determined woman," he muttered before heading to his own locker room.

_**WWF**_

"The next match is scheduled for one fall and it is the handicapped tag team match. Making his way to the ring, weighing in at 252 pounds, Stone Cold Steve Austin!" Lillian Garcia stood near the back of the ring as Austin and Jaina made their way out, Steve carrying the coveted WWF World Title belt over his shoulder. He was itching for a fight, and he was finally getting one. He didn't really care that it wasn't the Undertaker tonight. At least he'd be able to let out some frustration on two lackeys that didn't have the strength or brains to beat him.

Jaina trailed behind him, now portraying that she had all the confidence in the world that her father was going to whoop some major ass that night, but if the camera closed in on her, anyone could see the worry lines around her mouth and the way her blue eyes darted from her father to the top of the ramp. He'd ordered her to stay out of the match; she wasn't to get involved in the match in anyway. If those two little vampires double teamed Austin, then they double teamed him, but Steve had been relentless in assuring the promise came from Jaina's lips before they left the room. And stay out of the match she would.

"And now, making their way to the ring with a combined weight of 480 pounds, the Edge and Christian!" Lillian may have only been the ring announcer, but she was not a stupid woman by any stretch of the imagination. As soon as the brooding duo appeared at the top of the ramp, she hopped out of the ring and sat in her chair far in the corner near the bell.

Jaina set up camp on the side of the ring parallel to the ramp letting a loud 'whoop!' into the air as Steve attacked both men before they could even slide their feet underneath the ropes to get into the squared circle. Both of them fell off the side and onto the floor.

_So far so good!_

_**WWF**_

In the ring, Austin was lunching forward, one foot in front of the other, begging the two men to get into the ring. Edge and Christian and come to the ring with a purposeful stride, but now, they were second guessing whether or not they should return. But one thought crossed their minds and they looked at each other.

It would have been far worse for them to turn tale and run now than get into that ring and have Austin beat the living hell out of them. However, they were going to do anything they could to have that not happen. They didn't come out there for a fair match anyways; they came out there to cripple Austin in time for Over the Edge.

Christian was the first in the ring, circling Austin until he got close enough to throw a few punches, which Austin dodged and in turn delivered stinging kicks to his abdomen until he had Christian on his ass against the turnbuckle, kicking him down until the referee ordered Austin out of the corner. While the referee was checking on Christian, Edge managed to get an illegal hit over the rope to the back of Austin's head. As Jaina saw this she bit her lips, but remained rooted to the spot she was in. She couldn't interfere; she'd promised.

That was how the next five minutes of the match proceeded; either Christian or Edge would be in the ring, and the other would do whatever they could to knock Austin down, to try and make sure that he couldn't get back up. Things changed though when Steve had had more than enough of the double team action.

Christian and Edge made the big mistake of celebrating just a little bit to early, and as her father lay in front of her, his head down on the mat, Jaina bit her lip, bidding him to get up. That was when she heard him say, "time to stomp some mudholes." He raised his head slowly, and their identical blue eyes locked. "Get away from the ring." Jaina backed up all the way to the announcers table as Christian lifted her father up and swung him toward the parallel ropes, but as Christian made to give him a clothesline, Stone Cold ducked under it and bounced off the other ropes, stopping just long enough to give the man a kick to the stomach and a stunner, courtesy of the rattle snake.

"Go Dad!" Jaina screamed, jumping up and down, thrusting her fists into the air as her father went after Edge, Christian safely out for the time being. When Edge brought both his fists down on the middle back of Stone Cold, it didn't do much more than make Austin more pissed than what he was. He turned and gave a series of brutal punches and kicks to Edge before dragging the man back to the center of the ring and giving him a stunner as well. As Austin's music hit, he kicked both men in the back repeatedly to get them out of the ring and motioned for Jaina to join him, which she very quickly and happily did, walking over to her father with the belt in her hand and giving it to him.

She laughed as Edge and Christian stumbled towards the ramp, trying to walk a straight line but not quite being able to do so. As they looked back at the ring, she nodded her head and yelled at them to keep going while her father showed off on the turn buckles, holding the belt high above his head, daring the Undertaker to try and take it from him. He motioned for Lillian to hand him a mic as he hopped off. "Hey Undertaker," he paced around the ring, a cocky grin on his face, "I'm still waitin' for that beatin' ya promised, bust seein' as how ya couldn't get your little lackey's to take care of the job, I guess that means you'll see me in two weeks, which is just fine, cause it'll give me a long time to figure out exactly how dry I'm gonna stomp that mudhole in your ass!" He threw the mic in the air and continued to yell towards the back, towards where he knew the Undertaker to be hiding out.

"Good job, Dad!" Jaina grabbed her father's wrist and held it up in the air, conveying the confidence of knowing that her father would indeed meet the Undertaker at Over the Edge and hang him out to dry.

**WWF**

After cleaning up their locker room and saying good bye to a few people, Steve and Jaina were in the truck and on their way back to the hotel.

"This week we're gonna get you in the ring," Steve was saying as he drove, "we'll get you some practice starting tomorrow on different moves and falls."

"Sounds good," Jaina shifted in the seat, "Dad-"

"We'll go to that little place just outside Victoria; Dan'll shut down the place for me for a day, I've already talked to him."

"Great. Dad-"

"It'll hurt the first few times ya fall onto the mat, but after than you'll be so beat up ya won't even feel it."

"Dad!"

"Huh?" Austin looked over at his daughter for a moment, "oh, I'm sorry sweetheart, you been tryin' to say somethin'?"

"Yea, I've got something to tell you." She bit her lip for a moment, not quite knowing how to broach the subject, but her father just waited patiently. "You know I got to D.C. a bit early, like this past Saturday?"

Steve nodded.

"Well, I was in the restaurat eating dinner and Shane McMahon happened to stop by." She peeked over to gauge her fathers reaction, but so far, he had none. He just kept driving, and when he looked over toward her, he nodded his head. "I'm listenin', keep goin'."

"Okay, well...so we had dinner and um...after that we walked around D.C. for a little while and we got a bite to eat at this really great restaurant and after that we went back to the hotel."

They pulled into the parking lot of their hotel and Steve looked around for a parking spot. They'd left the arena a bit late and now most people that had been there had beaten them back. "So, I guess in a nut shell what I'm trying to say is that Shane and I went out on a little date. And we liked it. And now we're dating."

_Screeeech!_

Austin had brought the truck to a very abrupt stop and if Jaina had not been wearing her seat belt, her head would have gone right into the glove compartment. She watched her father turn off the engine and shift in his own seat to look at her. _"What?"_

"Shane and I....well, we had so much fun the other night and he was a real gentleman Daddy, opened doors for me and walked on the left side of the sidewalk so that he was the one closest to the road, he held his out for me when ever I was sitting down to help me up-"

"I don't care about any of that!" Austin exclaimed. His daughter had gone insane, that was what had happened, she'd literally lost her marbles. "Jaina, you don't understand what you...oh dammit...." he took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

"Dad, Shane's not a bad guy, he's actually really sweet, and kind and caring and he's a lot of fun..."

"Jaina, for Christ sakes, I'm not complainin' about _him_. Do you have any idea what you're gettin' yourself into, datin' somebody in the business?"

"I have a father in the business and I didn't have a choice in that, and I think it's been pretty good so far."

"Don't get smart with me," Austin snapped, "you're not just datin' a wrestler, you're datin' the owners son. Shane doesn't see his home but one day a week, _if_ that. He's on the road constantly, his schedule is entirely different from mine or yours, he's not gonna have the time to give to you the way you deserve-"

"Dad, it's not like we got married! It was one date, and we like spending time with each other, we're comfortable around each other...we like each other, Dad. We want to see what's there, and if there is then...you know, we'll deal with that as it comes."

Austin sighed as he turned the truck back on and continued to find a parking spot, mulling around in his head the great news his daughter just broke to him. This was not what he wanted for her. Shane was a nice guy, but he had a reputation of being a bit of a ladies man, never mind that he hadn't really seen anyone in the past year. He was also a busy man, hopping planes from city to city, spending long days and sometimes nights up working...that wasn't what he wanted for his little girl. But his little girl was 23 years old now...

Finally finding a spot, he pulled the truck in and cut the engine, resting his hands on the wheel and closing his eyes. So she wanted to date Shane, the boss's son. Who the hell was Austin to tell her no? Shane might have gone through a lot of women in the past, but that was in the past...maybe he was ready to settle down or maybe not...either way, he could either accept Jaina's decision, or he couldn't, but he knew the trouble that would bring.

Without saying a word, he got out of the truck and shut the door, and Jaina followed suit, closing the door softly and walking around to the bed of the truck, watching her father pace slowly back and forth. Pacing slowly was better than pacing frantically. Pacing slowly meant he was considering that maybe he just might be wrong.

"Dad, please...." Jaina didn't know what to say, she wasn't sure what she was pleading for her father to do; be happy for her, let her live her life...don't kill Shane...She almost winced at the piercing gaze her father sent her way.

"As long as you understand that this ain't gonna be easy for ya..." Steve wiped his face with a hand, walking over and giving his daughter a tight hug, "do what makes ya happy in the end Jay, that's all I can ask you to do...if that means trying this thing out with Shane then....I'll guess I'll just have to live with working with my daughters boyfriend."

Jaina yelped happily and wrapped her arms around her fathers neck."Thank you, Daddy!"

"Yea, yea, yea...just don't let me catch you two..." Steve stopped at the look on his daughters face, "oh forget it. Just don't let me catch you two doin anything that'll get you in trouble later."

"Daaaaddd," she whined, following him into the hotel and looking around. She could already see Mark Calloway, Glenn Jacobs, and a few other members of the ministry in the bar, as well as Paul Levesque and Shawn Michaels. She pointed to the bar area, silently asking if they should go over and say a quick hello, but her father shook his head. "Let's go find your buddy," was all he said, leading them both over to the elevators. "My buddy?" Jaina laughed out.

"Boyfriend is just a bit to strong for my psyche right now, Jay," Austin punched the fifth floor button and the rode it up, stepping out when the doors opened, Jaina behind him as he headed to Shane's room.

"You do the honor's," he said, motioning for her to knock on the door, which she did. A few seconds later, Shane opened the door to see his new girlfriend and his new girlfriends father standing in front of him. "Hey," Jaina greeted, "can we come in for a second?"

"Sure," Shane opened the door, holding it for both Jaina and Steve, then closed it when they were in the room, "have a seat, do you guys want anything?"

"Just a quick chat with you about my little girl," Steve answered, "I'm not here to get in between you two or make trouble or pull the 'you're not good enough for my daughter' speech. I love my daughter, Shane, and I want what's best for her. I just want to make sure that you want the same thing. If you two wanna see each other socially, that's fine; I just wanna make sure you're not gonna forget about makin' time for her when you've got a company to run and your jettin' around the country."

Shane looked over Austin's shoulder at Jaina, who was standing quietly behind him, her arms crossed, watching Shane carefully. She arched an eyebrow at him, as if to say, 'well? Tell him what you think you need to tell him'.

"Steve...I'm not gonna lie to you; this whole thing took both of us by surprise, it came out of the blue, but I can promise you two things. One, whether we're together for one week, one month, a year, or, if it just so happens, if we're together rest of our lives, I can promise you, I'll never be unfaithful to her. I know you're worried about that; you have every right to be. But I swear on my family name, those days are over."

Steve nodded. "Good". Jaina however, cocked her head to the side; those days? She'd have to be sure to ask him about that later.

"Two; I'll always respect her, I'll treat her like the lady she is. You won't have to worry about her coming to you crying over something I said to her or something I did to her...I'd never hurt her." Shane was actually a bit proud of himself that he could stand up and say these things to Austin. The man's ring persona aside, he was still a force to be reckoned with, especially when it came to his daughter, and McMahon knew that he would have Hell to pay if he ever did anything dishonorable to Jaina.

"Alright," Austin finally stepped back a bit from Shane and looked at his daughter, "if this is what you want, go for it, but if I may offer a bit of advice; as much as you can, keep your relationship out of the ring. You're not experienced at this Jay, so whatever happens in that ring, whatever is said in that ring, what do you do?"

"Leave it in the ring."

"That's my girl," Steve leaned over, giving his daughter a hug before stepping back and turning to face Shane. He stuck his hand out and Shane grasped it firmly, both men looking at each other in the eye and having an understanding that only a father and his daughters boyfriend could have. "Who's thirsty?"

"Oh thank God, yes...Miller Time!" Jaina clapped her hands and grinned at Shane. "That's a rare honor boyfriend; drinkin' with Daddy."

"Here's hoping I can keep up with him. That'll be the first toast; To Shane, praying that you can drink Austin under the table." Shane opened the door and all three of them rode the elevator down to the restaurant.

"Hey, there they are!" Stephanie had looked up from the table and noticed her brother, Austin, and Jaina all coming into the bar area together. And because she'd noticed, she'd figured that she had to let everyone else know about their arrival as well. It was pretty obvious that the cat was out of the bag about Shane and Jaina's new relationship, because all the WWF stars stood up and clapped their hands.

"Hey, Shane's still alive; careful, Austin, people might think you're going soft!" Mark joked, walking over and clapping his friend on the back. He glanced at Jaina. "Um...what was that you were saying about you and Shane being 'just friends'?" There really wasn't much that Jaina could say against that, but she still opened her mouth to defend herself. "Hey, at the time, we were." None the less, she gave Mark a hug and laughed when he said, "yea, right."

The night was a great one. Shane didn't often come down to the bar to spend time with the talent, but tonight he made an exception, and he vowed to try and do it more often. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with any of them; he loved them all, they were amazing men, providing for their families the old fashioned way; traveling and fighting for them. The fact was that most of the time, he would already be on a plane back to Hartford, Connecticut or somewhere else for a promotional venue, or going to Greenwich back home for a day or two. However, he was there tonight, and the boys made him feel more than welcome as they drank and ate and kicked around with him.

Eventually, Shane made his way over to his sister. "Gee, how do you think everyone found out about me and Jaina?"

Stephanie gave him an innocent look. "I have no idea. I guess word just got around, you know?"

"Well, considering you were really the only one to see us together earlier today and we got together just last night..." he couldn't be mad at her though. With everyone knowing, it certainly beat having to sneak around everyone's back and the rumors that would follow. There wouldn't be a point to it anyway; word spread fast in the WWF. Just ask Stephanie.

"You guys make a cute couple, you look good together," she complimented, "and I wanted to make sure that none of the other new talent got any ideas about her."

"Even if she was free, I don't think they'd have the balls to ask her out. Look who her father is."

"Doesn't seem to bother you."

"Yea well," Shane shrugged, "we have an understanding." His sister arched an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"I don't hurt his daughter, he let's me live."

Stephanie shrugged. "That's par for the course, I guess."

**WWF**

The next day, Steve and Jaina were on the road home. They'd take a break for an hour or two, and then it was time for Jaina's training in the ring to begin. She'd been mentally preparing herself the entire plane ride home for hitting the mat; hopefully, her adrenaline would be up and she would barely feel it.

By 4:30 Central, they were back home at the house, both of them unpacking and eating before getting on the road to the training center Austin had commandeered for them both. When they arrived, Dan was there to meet them. "Hey man, thanks for doin' this for us," Steve shook his friends hand, "you know Jaina."

"Sure do, how ya doin' ma'am?" Dan tipped his hat in old Texas fashion for greeting a woman. "Hey Dan." Jaina looked around. "So, we've got the whole place to ourselves, yea?"

"You two and one more person that's meeting you here," Dan said. Jaina frowned. "Dad, who else is gonna be here?"

"He's actually already inside, Steve, if you wanna go in."

"Sure do. C'mon, let's get you trained, baby girl," Steve led them both into the training facility. When they got to the ring, there was a tall, muscular man with dark hair standing in the middle of it. Jaina grinned.

"Dwayne!" She slid into the ring and jumped on Dwayne, better known as The Rock and jumped on him, throwing her hands around his neck. Dwayne played along, falling on his back while Jaina hugged him hard. "Hey, Steve, you really think she needs training?" He laughed as Jaina mock pinned him on the mat. They played around a little while longer before Jaina hopped up. "Are you helping Dad out?"

"Actually, I'm the one that's gonna be training you."

"But I thought-"

"Nope," Austin ducked under the ropes, "Dwayne here's got the rest of the week off. I on the other hand, have a house show tomorrow and a meeting with Vince on Thursday. So, he's gonna be showin' you the ropes, no pun intended."

"Okey dokey," Jaina took her sweater off, revealing a common tank top and sports bra as her father stepped out of the ring, "are you gonna hang around and watch a bit?"

She didn't even get an answer before her back hit the mat without warning. Dwayne had hit her with a clothesline sending her crashing to the white surface and knocking the wind out of her. "Owwwww," she groaned, coughing a bit as her lungs tried to come back from the impact.

"I'll call you when we're done, Steve," Dwayne watched Jaina try to pick herself up off the mat while Steve nodded and waved at the duo.

"Pay attention, Jay." Was his only advice before he and Dan left the ring and the training center.

"First rule when you're in this ring with anybody, is don't take your eyes off of your opponent." Dwayne watched Jaina get to her knees, slowly but surely, and he was happy to see that there was now a volcano's worth of fire in her eyes. She was pissed. Good. She tried to stand up, but fell down again, her knees catching her.

"Jeeez, Dwayne, ya wanna give me some warning," she coughed out. Dwayne shuffled over to stand in front of her. "You're not gonna get any warning in the ring, Jaina. So, I'm not going to give you any warning in practice. If you want to do this, you're gonna have to be prepared for anything." He held out a hand to help her up.

"Alright," Jaina grasped his hand, but instead of accepting his help, she threw her body back and Dwayne came with her, crashing over her head on the other side as she landed on her back. With all of his years in the ring, the fall didn't hurt Dwayne that much, not at all, really, and he got right back up and stood over her. "Pretty good, kid," he complimented, "but rule number two is don't trust anyone to help your ass off the mat."

"I didn't," she shot back, taking a deep breath and getting to her feet, "hence your ass landing on the floor behind me."

Dwayne grinned. This was gonna be fun.

**WWF**

By the time Dwayne called it a night, it had been nearly three and a half hours and he was actually sweating a little bit. Jaina looked like she'd just come out of the shower, but he had to admit he was a little impressed with her. It had been obvious that she'd been following a work out program and she was able to show it off a little bit with him. She'd told him when they really got down to the nitty gritty that he didn't want him to go easy on her; if she got thrown to the mat, then so be it, but she wasn't about to have a man take pity on her smaller, feminine form. Besides, they wouldn't do it in the ring, so it wouldn't be very beneficial for Dwayne to do so in practice.

As they sat waiting for Steve to pick Jaina up, they chatted about this and that, and when Dwayne brought up Shane, he didn't miss the blush that scattered across her cheeks, even though she was still slightly flushed from practice. "You and Shano-Mac, huh?"

"Yea, me and Shane," with her knee's still hanging off the side of the ring, Jaina laid back down on the mat, "apparently everybody saw it coming except me and him."

"Yea? Like who?"

"Mark for one."

"Caloway?" Dwayne rubbed his chin. "Yea, he's always been perceptive like that. He likes to study people; comes from studying his opponents."

"Yea, well, he get's an A+ for that subject in my book."

A cell phone ring went off and Jaina rolled off the mat, walking to her sweatshirt and grabbing the phone out of the pocket. She smiled when she saw the number and flipped her phone open. "Hey Shane."

"How are we doing tonight?" Shane asked from his office in Connecticut. He was doing another late night of paper work, finalizing the deal that would put on the internet.

"Oh, I'm doing great, I just got my ass kicked all over the ring by Dwayne."

"Dwayne Johnson? Why is he kicking your ass?"

"Because my father rangled him into being the one to get me some ring training. I thought Dad was gonna do it, but we got to the training center tonight and Dwayne was here."

"Ah," Shane sat down in his high backed leather chair, "you hurt?"

"Well, I'm not hurt exactly, but I have a whole new respect for anyone who hits that mat every Monday night. I'll have even more respect when they start hitting the mat every Thursday night, too."

"Ah yes, the infamous Smackdown!," She could hear the grin in his voice and she smiled with him, "I can't wait for that first show; it's going to be phenomenal." He cleared his throat. "So you don't feel bad at all, you're up and walking and it's not painful."

"Well, I didn't say all that," Jaina chuckled, looking back at Dwayne who just waved to her, "Dwayne caught me with a clothesline when we first started. It kinda went all down hill from there." She shook her head when Dwayne held out his hand for the phone. When he flexed his fingers forward in back, she rolled her eyes. "Hold on, he wants to talk to you for some reason."

"Hey, Shane," Dwayne greeted, "so, I know this nice little church in San Francisco if you and Jaina want to get married there next week."

"_What!"_ Jaina screeched, "Dwayne, gimme back my phone!" She tried jumping all over him, but the man held her at bay, talking on the phone with one hand and placing his other hand on her stomach so he could continue to push her away. "Yea, yea, it's a great little place, really small and home like. You two should enjoy it."

"This is a hazing right, we're being hazed?" Shane rolled his eyes. He knew the guys were not done having their fun with his new relationship, but they did it out of love. And in the name of fun, of course.

"No, no, seriously, Shane, I'm trying to help you out!"

"Dwayne, give me the phone back!" Jaina climbed onto the ring and behind the massive man, wrapping her arms around his neck as though she were going to jump on his back. "I want to talk to my boyfriend, dammit!"

"Wow, sounds like you've got your hands full there, Dwayne," Shane laughed, "better give her what she wants." He held the phone away from his ear, hearing Jaina shriek in indignation in the background.

"Seriously, think about that chapel man, just say the word, and I'll have it all set up for you!" Dwayne handed the phone back to Jaina, who was still on his back, holding on with one arm. "Hello?"

"Hey, it sounds like you're trying to beat the crap out of the Rock right now, so I'm gonna go ahead and let you do that, okay?"

"Sounds great. I'll see you...what, Sunday or Monday?" She slid off Dwaynes' back.

"I'm hoping for Sunday, but I'll call you this weekend and let you know."

"Alright, I'll talk to you then. Bye."

She hung the phone up then turned to Dwayne, narrowing her eyes. "You're a dweeb."

"Hey, I was just thinking of your future plans. Now look; you don't even have to worry about a place for the wedding, cause I've already found you one!" Dwayne received a punch in the arm for his efforts, and he took her into a headlock. "The Rock is just trying to help you Jaina Austin!"

"The Rock's tryin' to help my little girl by puttin' her in a headlock?" Steve had walked in without either of them hearing. "Hey Daddy!" It really was quite an amusing site; all Steve could see of his daughter was her hair and her body from the neck down, her hands unsuccessfully trying to rid herself of The Rocks arm around her throat. When Dwayne finally released her, she stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, that's nice," he responded.

"What this all about?" Steve looked both of them.

"Hey, I was just trying to help her find a place where she and Shane could have their wedding, buddy. That's all I was doing."

"Oh God, Dwayne, spare me, please," Steve put a hand over his heart, "it's bad enough she's datin' somebody of the opposite sex, I don't want to start thinking about her marryin' one of 'em too!"

"Don't worry, Dad, Shane and I aren't even a week old, and if and when we do decide to take that step, we will not be getting married in San Francisco!" She put her sweater on and stuff her phone back inside it. "Yea?" Dwayne walked over, "where then?"

"At the ranch, of course."

Dwayne had to struggle not to break down in laughter. "That'd be a sight to see; Shane McMahon on a ranch in Victoria, Texas. You're right, Jaina, have the wedding there, make Shane where some chaps!"

"Oh Lord, okay, Dad, I'm ready to leave when you are!" She gave Dwayne a hug and told him she'd be back tomorrow. "9:00am sharp," he said, and she groaned. She hated, absolutely hated getting up early. But, oh well. She was willing to do just about anything for this business.

And that included getting up at what she considered to be the crack ass of dawn.


	3. Get a Little Closer

1Jaina had never known pain the way she knew it for the next three days of her life. Her entire body was one big lump of walking pain. She couldn't even move her finger without hurting her hand. After hitting the mat for ten hours a day and getting broken in, literally, by Dwayne Johnson, when Friday came around, she couldn't even get out of bed. Every muscle she had, and those included the ones she'd didn't even know about, felt like they'd been ripped off the bone, stepped on, and then sown back on.

In other words, she was in her own personal Hell.

She heard the door open downstairs in the living room, signaling her father was finally home from his promotional jaunt. He called her name, but she didn't even bother to answer. Let him find her, let him find her in her room, sprawled on her bed, not even able to open her mouth because it hurt so much. She heard his footsteps on the stairs and a few seconds later, his bald head popped in her room.

"Oh, there ya are," he grinned, walking over and sitting next to her on the bed, "how did your training go?"

"Owwwwwwww," was all she could say as she turned her neck, ever so slowly, to look at him, "he murdered me, Daddy." She cleared her throat and looked at the ceiling. "I think you should go murder him back."

"Well, I could do that, but then Vince would come down here and murder me for killin' one of the biggest stars in WWF history. But is there anything else I can get for ya?"

"You're enjoying this way too much." Jaina rolled on her side, looking up at her father. "I don't even know if I'll be able to walk by Monday, _that's_ how bad it hurts."

"What have ya done for yourself? Taken any Advil or aspirin or anything like that?" From the way her hair looked, Steve was willing to lay good money that his daughter hadn't even gotten out of bed yet, and when she told him that it hurt to have her feet touch the ground, he rolled his eyes. "You can be such a drama queen sometimes."

Jaina stuck out her tongue. "It's you're fault for leaving me with that drill sergeant. I thought Dwayne liked me."

"He does like ya, sweetheart, and that's why he beat ya up so bad; so that you can take it in front of the crowd when ya need to. But I'll tell ya what, I'll go set up the whirlpool so you can soak in there for a while."

"Can I stay in there for a long time?" She asked hopefully.

"That's what you need to do. Let the hot water soak into your muscles and relax 'em a bit. When your body starts to prune, that's when you need to come out." Austin left her room, walking down the hall to the bathroom to set up a nice, very hot, very steamy bath for her. He was proud of her for what she'd put her body through the last three days. Dwayne had called him after every session and had nothing but good things to say about how things had gone. Jaina had a great attitude, even when she was down, and she had a lot of passion, two key ingredients in being successful in the wrestling world. Dwayne had also told Steve how hurt Jaina was, so he'd actually been expecting to walk into a house devoid of chaos since his daughter was laid up in bed.

Back in Jaina's room, her cell phone went off, and she groaned. "Noooooo," she moaned, crawling out of bed and hobbling on hands and knees until she flipped it open. "What?" she croaked in greeting.

"Well fine, if you don't want to talk to me..."

Jaina grinned, lying on the floor. "It hurts to talk right now."

Shane chuckled softly. "Been hitting the mat pretty hard, have we?"

"Really hard. Really, really, _really_ hard." She would have sat up to talk to him, but she liked her position on the floor right now. "What are you doing?"

"Eating."

"Oh, food...." Jaina remembered that she hadn't yet eaten that day, and now that she realized it, her stomach was at attention, letting her know just how hungry she really was. "I wonder if I can crawl to the kitchen..." She heard him laugh on the other end and frowned. "What's so funny?"

"You have no idea how pathetic you sound right now."

"You have no idea how pathetic I _look_ right now."

"Nah, I have a pretty good idea," Shane got up and took his plate to the kitchen. He actually had a chance to be home today. Well, not his house, but his parents house. He still considered that structure home in a way, and both Vince and Linda had always told him that he was welcome any time. He was their son; they wanted to see him as much as possible.

"Where are you?" Jaina asked, staring at her ceiling.

"I'm at my house, well, my parents house, but it's still my house, I guess." Shane washed his plate off and put it in the dishwasher.

"Fly down here and make me food," she ordered. "Yea, I'll hop right on that," he replied, walking into the living room. "Are you really in that much pain?" He asked after a few minutes.

"Yes!" Jaina groaned loudly. "I can't even stand up without my feet feeling like they have to much weight on them."

"Well, that sounds like a personal problem to me," Shane joked.

"Funny boy," Jaina managed to sit up and leaned against her dresser. "I see how this relationship is going to workout; I'm gonna be in pain and you're gonna make fun of me."

"Oh no, no, no...I'll make fun of you either way." Shane chuckled when he heard an indignant sound from his girlfriends mouth.

"Well fine, if that's how you feel about me," Jaina mockingly sniffed, "I just won't talk to you at all on Sunday."

"Then I guess you won't be missing that massage I was going to give you..."

After a pause, Jaina murmured, "well, maybe I'll talk to you for a little bit. You're definitely coming in Sunday?"

"I have the plane ticket in my wallet, waiting to go," Shane assured her, "We're all at the Sheraton Palace Hotel. I'll probably get there around four or five in the afternoon."

"I won't get there until seven," Jaina yawned, crawling over to her door and out into the hallway, passing her father who just stared down at her. "What in the Hell are you doin'?"

"I'm crawling to the bathroom, Dad, thanks for running the bath!" Jaina shuffled into the bathroom. Into the phone, she said, "sorry about that. Dad still doesn't realize that I can't walk worth a damn."

"S'ok," Shane sat down in one of the chairs looking out at the massive front lawn in front of him, "we'll take care of that in a couple days. Go enjoy your bath."

"I will. I'll call you later." Jaina ended the conversation, stripped herself of her clothing, and settled in for a long day and night of soaking and rehabbing.

**WWF**

Sunday couldn't come soon enough for either Shane or Jaina, but Shane had to wait to extra hours before Jaina arrived at the hotel. He ambled his way down to the lobby around 7:00pm to wait for her, sipping on a glass of wine as he did so.

When a familiar blonde head rolled her way through the spacious and luxurious space, he smiled and stood up, raising his hand to wave her over. He could tell that she was still in a fair amount of pain, her movements were slower than normal, carefully structured, and there was a hint of discomfort on her face as she rolled her suitcase over the table, tucking it near the railing.

"Ow," she greeted, giving him the most pathetic look she could come up with, and her ruse worked. Shane laughed, but wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly and kissing the top of her head softly.

"Normally, I like to finish my wine, but for you, I'll bring it up to your room. You're gonna feel like a million bucks when I get finished with you, I promise." He took his wine glass, and her luggage and led her to the elevators. Jaina's room was a lot higher than she normally got, all the way up on the 10th floor. She was glad for that, because she got to see the city skyline of San Francisco. Jaina loved sitting on the balconies of hotel's and just looking at the view, especially at night. There was nothing like it.

"Okay, here we go," Shane opened the door and they both walked in, "massage now or later?"

"Mmmmmm....now?" she flopped on the bed and sat up, looking at him, moving her hair out of the way of her back. When Shane didn't move behind her, she looked up at him again. "What's wrong?" She leaned back a bit as stepped in front of her. "I can't very well give you a back massage if you're sitting up, can I? Go on, get on your stomach."

Jaina hesitated for a moment before conceding, sliding back and turning over on her tummy. She placed both her hands under her chin and angled her neck down, brushing her hair off to the side to give Shane enough room to work with. She felt the weight of the bed go down when Shane climbed on top, and a chill go up her spine as Shane straddled her on her lower back. Just as Shane placed his hands on her shoulders, she hesitantly pipped up a question.

"Should I...you know...take off my shirt?"

Shane was glad she couldn't see his face at that moment; his eyebrows raised clear off his head. But hey, this was his girlfriend, it wasn't like he was never not going to see her with her shirt off...or anything else off for that matter. So, he moved off of her as she removed the garment and settled back down the way she was before, Shane straddling her once more, beginning to gently massage the bruised muscle and tissue beneath her shoulders and upper back.

"Did you take a class or something?"

Shane chuckled. "No. I um...well, I kind of learned with my other girlfriends," he finished lamely, not really wanting to discuss his past flames while giving his current flame some very intimate attention.

"Well, practice makes perfect I guess," she complimented.

"Feels good?"

"You have no idea."

She heard Shane laugh softly behind her. "Thanks for this; I'm feeling better already."

"I can tell; your muscles are starting to loosen up pretty well. Just keep relaxing while I take care of you, can you do that?"

"Uh-huh..." Jaina shifted her head to press into the pillows directly with her forehead, allowing her neck to be exposed and subsequently tended to by Shane's very talented hands.

By the time Shane was finished, Jaina didn't even feel him lie down beside her face to face. Her back had the same components as jelly at the moment. Shane studied her content, pain free, relaxed face and smiled softly to himself, though she couldn't see as her eyes were closed. None the less, it gave him a feeling of accomplishment that he'd been able to put Jaina in the blessed state she appeared to be in now. Even though she'd just come off a plane and had no time to freshen her face or anything like that, Shane thought she looked like a Goddess.

His Goddess.

He watched her eyes flutter open, taking him in slowly. "Hello."

"Hi there." Jaina's boyfriend shifted on the bed, propping his head up with his arm. "How are you feeling?"

"That question assumes that I can feel anything," Jaina mumbled, "I can't even put my head on your chest, my back feel's so squishy right now."

"Squishy?" Shane scooted closer to her, rolling on his back and lifting her head a bit to lay on his shoulder. "Yes, squishy," Jaina closed her eyes, caught in the moment of euphoria, snuggling closer as he wrapped his arm around her back. "You want to stay in tonight, order room service, watch a movie?"

"Have a slumber party?" Jaina giggled, looking up at him. "A slumber party with you sounds like heaven to me." She planted a small kiss on his mouth and pulled away, but didn't get far as Shane pulled her back to him and rolled her on her back, settling himself softly on her and kissing her fully, brushing her hair back from her face. Her lips for him were fast becoming a drug that he couldn't live without, and he could tell from the fervor with which Jaina responded that she felt the same way. Before long, Shane was settled in between her legs, putting his lips to any area of open skin that he could reach, fueled on by Jaina's small, yet shy gasps and her obvious attempts to somewhat control herself. But she couldn't help her fingers that trailed through Shane's thick, dark hair as his lips and tongue drove her, mind, body, and soul, insane.

Somewhere in the fog of McMahon's mind, he knew that he needed to put a stop to his actions before things went to far to soon, but damn it if he couldn't. He'd been waiting all week to touch her, kiss her, tell her how beautiful she was to him, laugh with her, talk to her in person...and after Monday night, he'd have to wait _another_ week to do it all again. But he knew that if he didn't put an end to this activity soon, it would be very painful for him to stop later on. He dragged his lips back up her bare stomach, pressing tender lips against the top of her chest area, and ended where he'd started; on her mouth, his tongue slipping in between her lips to claim her, somewhat roughly, as his own.

When that deep kiss ended and Jaina trailed his cheeks and chin with butterfly brushes of the mouth, he finally rested his forehead against hers, soaking in the moment that he didn't want to end, and that she didn't want him to stop. Both were shaking from the quick amount of pleasure they'd both received in such a short period of time, and trying to catch their breath as they waited for their hearts to stop pounding.

"Hungry?" Shane murmured, kissing her forehead lightly. Jaina nodded, her blue eyes fluttering open to meet his smoldering brown ones. "I could eat," she stammered out, "but..."

"But?" He didn't break his eye contact with her; this was one of those moments of truth situations. How he and Jaina dealt with this new and wonderful physical relationship would all ride on this moment.

"You continue to surprise me," she finally said, brushing her fingers through his hair and twirling it gently, "who knew you would be the one to make me submit?"

"Submit..." Shane smirked, "I like the sound of that."

"You would."

"Yes, I would, in fact, I just told you I did," he rose up off her and slid off the bed, grabbing the room service menu off the dresser and coming back to sit next to her. "What will it be tonight, my dear?"

"Mmmmm..." Jaina angled the menu closer to her, scanning the possibilities. "Honestly, a huge cheeseburger sounds so good right about now..." Shane agreed with her and ordered the cheeseburger platter, complete with fries, coleslaw, and a beer for each of them. "No wine for us tonight," Jaina joked, "we're goin' Texas back yard style!"

"All except for the little thing about being in a hotel room." Shane went to use the restroom, then came back out. "I'm going to run to my room, I'll be right back."

As the door closed, Jaina leaned her head back against the headboard of the bed and closed her eyes. Her heart still hadn't calmed down from the rather...productive workout it had received just a few minutes ago from Shane McMahon's mouth. She knew he was far more experienced than she at the physical aspect of a relationship, but what he'd been able to do to her with only his mouth and not even touching any...well, any of _those_ area's was nothing short of God like. She hadn't been lying either; she never submitted to anything, but with Shane's lips dancing over her skin like fine silk, she'd been willing to just lie there and do whatever he'd wanted her to do.

So, it was good that they'd stopped when they did.

**WWF**

"To much light..." Shane half crawled, half fell out of bed, padding bare foot over to the window and closing the curtains. When he turned around, intending to hop right back into bed, he stopped suddenly, curiosity over taking him. In his bed was a blonde girl with messy hair, the most adorable smile on her lips, and coming from her nose was the softest whimper of sleep he'd ever heard.

That's right; he was in Jaina's room, he'd stayed the night. That explained why, as he now looked around, his luggage was no where to be found. Now that he was sure of his bearings, he walked back over to the bed and laid down next to her, gently moving a few tousled blonde strands out of her eyes, watching her chest rise and fall with each deep, smooth breath she took.

Inadvertently, his mind traveled backwards in time to the previous night, when things had become rather passionate between them. He remembered how beautiful she looked, how shy she sounded, but also the pure bliss that was on her face as he'd worshiped her body with his mouth. By this point, they'd only been a couple for a week solid, but he felt more comfortable and whole with her than he had with any other woman he'd previously dated. He wasn't sure why, he just was.

"Jaina," he whispered softly, pressing his lips lightly to her cheek, "Jaina, wake up..." The only response he received was an indignantly groan as she shifted in the bed, her face turning away from him. Shane grinned, crawling on top of her. "Jaina, time to go to school!" From underneath him, he heard her mumble, "I already graduated."

"But not from the WWF, you haven't, and I'm the Headmaster, so...time to go to school," he eased himself off her and waited until she was sitting up. He had a feeling that Jaina was very much like Stephanie in this regard; when the women were awake, they were bright eyed and bushy tailed. However, they had to be at least ten feet away from the bed, their teeth brushed and faces washed, and at least have 12oz of coffee in their system before they could begin to half way start their day. With the latter thought in mind, Shane walked over to their in room coffee maker and began brewing them each a cup or two.

"What time is it?"

"It's....11:30." Shane looked at her. "Look, we've got to get to the arena by 12:00, so I'm going to run to my room, shower, change, and be back down here in ten minutes. Think you can be ready by then?"

"Yea," Jaina tumbled out of the bed, pouring herself and Shane a cup of coffee. She handed it to him as he opened the door, "bring that back down with you." Shane hurriedly thanked her, then rushed out of her room, closing the door behind him.

"Oh boy...ten minutes...how the Hell am I supposed to figure out what to wear in ten minutes?"

**WWF**

They got to the arena just in the nick of time as the first delivery trucks were just arriving. Shane and Jaina split, Shane going to meet the drivers and Jaina going to their assigned room to change from her sweats into regular clothes and generally get cleaned up and presentable. She wouldn't see much of Shane until about 5:00pm as they were on the west coast and would have to start at 6pm to line up the timing with the east coast audience.

She palled around the arena with various wrestlers, and Stephanie McMahon, until her father arrived around 4pm.

"Hey Dad," she entered his room happily, "what's up?"

"You look better," he complimented her, "feeling better too, I guess."

"There's still some soreness in the upper shoulders and the neck, but it's no where near where it was a few days ago. I mean, I can walk now, right?"

"Right," Steve sat on the couch and motioned for her to do the same, "need to go over a few things with you for tonight."

_**WWF**_

The Undertaker looked down in disgust at the two blond men in front of him. "You both had one simple job last week," he sneered, which only made the heads of Edge and Christian bow even lower. "There were _two_ of you! Why did you fail me? Why did you fail our Master?"

"We...we're sorry..." Edge started, but the Undertaker only glared at him, silencing him immediately. "You're sorry...mean while, this pushes back our plans for Austin! He should have been ripe for sacrifice last week, but that didn't happen!" He stepped forward only a few inches, but that was enough to make the two brothers back away in fear. "If you have any suggestions, I'll be glad to hear them..."

"I-we...." Edge could barely speak. He'd already been flogged once by the Undertaker for revealing the location of Stephanie McMahon when they'd stashed her in the basement. He wasn't looking forward to that experience again, and, if possible, wanted to delay that as much as possible.

"I think I have an idea, Master," Christian hesitated slightly, and the Undertaker turned his gaze on him.

"And that would be?"

_**WWF**_

Shane walked out onto the ramp, his entrance music blasting it's way through the intercoms and speakers of the arena. He had a grim yet determined expression on his face. He was going to do this, no matter what the out come was. He slipped through the ropes, walking over and taking a microphone from one of the ring boys and walked back to the center of the ring.

"I know I don't usually come out here and do what I'm about to do, but I have seen enough, and heard enough to the point that it had gotten me to my breaking point." He brushed a hand over his mouth, looking around at the crowd. "I have seen the Undertaker intimidate my family, my baby sister, long enough! He wants control of the WWF, he's going to go through me to get it! That's what you ultimately want, right, Taker? You wanna own me, you wanna own the wrestlers, you wanna own everything that these fans ever see? Well, being that my father isn't here tonight, and being that he can't stop me from doing what I've wanted to do since you took my sister away from me, I want you in a match, in this ring, _tonight!_"

_**WWF**_

"Oh my God, is he crazy?" Jaina watched on the television in her and her fathers room, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Crazy or stupid, it don't matter, he ain't gettin' what he wants," Austin grabbed his belt and threw on his vest. "Let's get out there. If anyone's gonna get to Taker tonight, it's gonna be me."

_**WWF**_

"Come on Undertaker, I'm out here right now! I'm out here all by myself! This should be easy pickings for you!" Shane stared at the entrance ramp, wondering why the Undertaker wasn't showing himself. So, it was no surprise to anyone when Shane, hearing Stone Colds music go off, took a couple of steps back from the ropes and watched with increasing anger and intrusion as Austin, along with his daughter, made their way down the ramp.

_Well...at least Jaina's with him_, he reasoned. He'd only had a couple conversations with the girl, but she seemed very nice, headstrong and stubborn like her father, but not crass or rude like him either. He locked eyes with Austin as the other man went passed him, not thinking for a minute about backing down from that man. Shane was not his father, he would not run from every little prank the rattlesnake pulled. He was not so easily intimidated.

When Austin got the mic into his hand he walked right up to Shane, invading his personal space. "Shane, I appreciate you making the dumb move you did and challenging the Undertaker to a match tonight, but you seem to forget that I've got first dibs on that son of a bitch!"

But Shane wasn't backing down, not tonight. Instead, he smiled and shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no...no, see, Austin, the Undertaker hasn't been stalking your baby sister for the past three months. The Undertaker hasn't kidnaped your baby sister, tied her to a symbol, and led her down to this ring to be sacrificed and married to him-"

"And correct Stone Cold if he's wrong, but he don't remember your ass runnin' down there to save her either," Austin glared at him, and Jaina could tell that he would play this game with the young McMahon for a while, but only for a while, only as long as it amused him. Still, for now, she decided to stay out of the discussion.

"Yea, you're right, and you know what?" Shane hit his chest as he spoke. "I'm gonna have to live with that for the rest of my life! I'm going to have to live with the fact that my father, my family had to ask one of our worst enemies to help us, to save another family member. I'm going to have to live with that. But Austin, if I have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life, then I'm damn well gonna do something to soften it up, and I want the Undertaker _tonight_!"

The crowd seemed conflicted. They all agreed with both Shane and Austin; they had no idea whose side to choose.

"Well, the fact of the matter is, Stone Cold Steve Austin doesn't give one rats ass what you want tonight," Steve was pacing the ring now but he abruptly stopped and looked at his daughter. "You see that girl right there?" He pointed at her, and Shane looked at her, sizing her up, a bit appreciatively. Jaina could only blush slightly and look away, pursing her lips. The crowd noticed and voiced their happy opinion.

And Austin noticed as well.

"Hey!" He snapped his fingers and Shane looked immediately back at him. "Eyes front," the man warned. "Two weeks ago, that dead bastard tried to trap her in this ring and use me to get her here. He put my little girl in danger...you think ole Stone Cold is gonna forget that?"

"You have Over the Edge to get your revenge, Austin!" Shane reminded him. "And oh, by the way, did you conveniently forget who came out with a steel chair to save her? It wasn't you; you were to busy being pulverized by the Ministry to do anything!"

That little reminder did not please Austin at all. He stalked back up to Shane, who, to his credit, didn't back down what so ever. The men were nose to nose, each hurling insults and threats at the other. Neither of them noticed Jaina walk over to the turn buckle closest to Lilian and ask for a microphone, but they did notice that when she spoke, her voice was louder than it should have been.

"Excuse me!" She placed a hand on her fathers arm, nudging him back a bit. "Separate corners, the both of you!" Her father looked at her, somewhat surprised that she would speak to him that way, while Shane didn't bother to look at the woman in front of him; he only had eyes for Austin.

"Now, Dad, Shane's family has been through Hell the past few months. I know how you must have felt when the Undertaker backed me into a corner and I couldn't get away." She watched him out of the corner of her eye warily as she turned her attention to Shane. "And Shane...you're right, no brother should have to endure watching his sister be dragged down an aisle she doesn't want to walk herself. But my father has been screwed by your father and the Undertaker countless times over the years!"

Shane rolled his eyes at her, but Jaina caught it, and that proved to be a bit of a mistake for the man in question. "Don't role your eyes at me, little man, when I'm trying to help you!" She heard her father laugh behind her as she walked up to him. "If you want, I can just leave the ring without telling you my idea, watch my father beat you senseless, and still walk away with everything he wants, and nothing you want. Would you rather I do that?"

Shane swallowed, slightly embarrassed as he looked down. Well, what could he say to that? Actually, he couldn't say anything at the moment; he was to speechless that someone, a woman no less, would have the balls to speak to him in that manner.

"I asked you a question, Shane. Is that what you want?" He winced slightly under her glare as he brought the microphone back up to his mouth. "No," he answered shortly.

"Alright," she looked back at her father, "then listen to me, you don't have to do it, but I think that what you'll hear will be to both of your likings." She made sure that she had both of their attention before continuing. "Shane, you want revenge on the Undertaker for everything that he's done to your family." He nodded again. "Dad," she walked toward him, "you hate the Undertaker, you want him beaten to a bloody pulp, and you want that beating to come from you!" Her father nodded as well, and she looked back and forth between him and Shane. "Then do it together..."

The crowd loved that idea, their cheers increasing ten fold as the two men looked at each other and at Jaina, perplexed. "Dad, last week, the Undertaker put you in a handicapped match with Edge and Christian. Why don't you return the favor by challenging _him_ to a handicapped match tonight with you and Shane as tag team partners?" She could tell by the look on his face that he didn't like that idea much.

"Jay," he put one hand on his hip, giving her a sidelong glance, "you want me to team up with the boss's son? You want me to get into a tag team match up with Shane McMahon, the man who helped Vince screw me for the past two years? That's what you want?"

"Hey, I don't like it much either, Austin," Shane announced, glaring at him.

"_Neither_ of you like this at all, I can tell, but think about it...Shane, you wouldn't be able to take the Phenom on your own. You're just not able to do it." Jaina shook her head sadly. "And Dad, the Undertaker would just tell the ministry to be on standby so they could gang up on you again. At least this way, it would be two against seven..."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Shane voiced, and Jaina nodded, giving him a small smile. "Exactly. Dad," she walked over to him, her face pleading with him, "I know it's not what you want...but you'll get the Undertaker this Sunday at Over the Edge. I know your old saying, 'Don't Trust Anybody', and no one here is asking you to trust a McMahon...but I am asking you, _both_ of you," she looked back at Shane, "to work together for one match tonight to bring down the Undertaker, for _all_ our sakes in the WWF." She met her fathers case full on, not nearly as intimidated by him as others that would step into the ring, and definitely not now. He brought the microphone to his lips to give his answer to her proposition, but he was very rudely cut off by the sound of a tolling bell and the lights dimming in the arena.

_**WWF**_

The Undertaker was furious. The Austin girl had put him in a very precarious position; he would have to accept her terms, lest he look like a coward in front of everyone, but most importantly, in front of His Lord and Master. He emerged on the ramp, alone, encased in the blue light and fog that seemed to follow him where ever he went, his thick, long, leather druids robe moving fluidly along with his legs as they carried him to the very top of the walk way where it started to slant downward. He watched, somewhat amused as Austin and the McMahon child simultaneously, probably without even knowing it, stepped in front of the blond brat, as if they could possibly protect her from him...

Bringing a microphone to his lips that he'd had underneath his cloak, he waited for the music to die down before he spoke. When he did, everyone in the arena could hear his displeasure, and the dangerous tones of his voice. The Undertaker did not like to be painted into a corner by anyone, but least of all by a mere woman.

"I accept," was all he said, smiling evilly at all three of them, "but know this: two of you will not be enough to destroy me or my Ministry. I serve an awesome Lord and Master, and it is his will that I sacrifice one of you tonight..." he walked to the side a bit, wanting to project the image that this latest slight didn't harm or bother him in the least, that he welcomed it. "But I would think...I would think very, very carefully about what you proposed, my dear," he pointed at Jaina, who only raised her chin in defiance, "you see, when you play a game with the darkness, when you taunt evil, there's only one thing that can and always will happen; you become a target of it. And that's what you've done, little one, you've toyed with something more powerful than you could ever imagine. You've antagonized the one entity you don't ever want to anger, and tonight...I'm going to show you just what happens to those who challenge the dark side!"

He dropped his mic, the fog rising once again as his music blasted angrily for all to hear. Back in the ring, Jaina watched the dark man as he continued to smile blackly down at her. She saw, and didn't see, her father and Shane nodding their heads at one another, both now on board with her idea. All she clearly saw was the possible trouble she might have brought on them.

And the trouble she'd definitely brought upon herself.

_**WWF**_

One could have cut the tension in the room with a knife. Jaina sat quietly on the couch, huddled against one of the corners while her father and Shane were having their third stare down after as many arguments. They'd been trying to come up with a game plan for the past half hour now, and their match was in one hours time...

It didn't seem like they were well on their way to defeating the Undertaker tonight after all.

Now they were bickering about who would start the match. Should Austin start the match to really take it to the Undertaker, or should Shane start the match to tire him out? Finally, Jaina could stand it no more. She shot up from the couch and slammed open the door, stalking out of the room and leaving her father and Shane McMahon with their mouths wide open.

"Jaina, get back here!" Austin leaned out of the door frame, but it was to late. Jaina was no where to be seen. He punched the door in frustration and glared back at Shane, who was looking at Steve with an even amount of contempt. But they didn't say anything to each other. In fact, had Jaina been there, she would have seen sheepish looks on both of their faces.

"Alright," Shane paced slowly, toying around with an idea in his head, "I don't like you, you don't like me. I don't trust you, and you damn sure don't trust me, that it in a nutshell?"

"You could say that," Austin answered sarcastically.

"However, we are in a match together tonight, Austin, and I want just as much of the Undertaker as you want." Shane fell back on the couch, his hands slapping down on his thighs. "So, seeing as how I'm supposed to be fighting the Undertaker tonight, I'm tired of fighting with you. At this rate, I won't have the energy to get out there and do what I want to do to him."

"Yea, well, meanwhile, while you're flappin' your gums, my daughter is out wandering the arena without me while that bastards' minions are flyin' around here doin' who knows what!"

Austin was still walking the length of the room savagely, like a lion trapped in a cage. Shane remained where he was; he wasn't about to walk out later tonight with a black eye from his partner. However, he did speak on that note. "The Undertaker won't do anything to her, not right now. He's busy gathering his strength and making plans. What ever he does to any one of us tonight, he want's it to be front and center. He'll do it in the ring."

That bit of calculating idea got through to Austin, and he slowed to a stop, looking at his partner, nearly boring a hole through the mans head as he looked at him. A grunt signaled his agreement and he wiped his hand over his head, thinking about the next step for the night.

"Your daughter had a good idea," Shane complimented, "it seems like it's up to us to make sure it goes right." Steve didn't have anything to say to that, so Shane kept talking. "Let's call a truce, you and me, right here, right now. As long as the Undertaker has this much power, it's going to take everyone we can get to bring him down."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Austin muttered, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, "I ain't much for fancy words or phrases, so here's how it's gonna be: you don't think about screwin' me...and I won't whoop your ass. Deal?"

Shane nodded. "Deal."

Austin got up, heading for the door, but before he left he turned back to Shane. "Oh, and before I forget...what ever it was you were thinkin' when you were starin' at her in the ring...forget about it."

Shane watched him leave the room, drumming his fingers on the couch, letting Steve's warning permeate his brain. He walked over to the door, clapping his hands together. "Why yes, Stone Cold, I will help you look for your daughter, no problem."

_**WWF**_

"Tonight, I want no mistakes. Tonight, all will go as planned, do you understand me?" The Undertaker stood in the center of a circle made by his Ministry, and all their heads bobbed up and down. There was a tone in the Undertakers voice tonight...he was not happy about last week's occurrences and he would not have another night where he was embarrassed in front of his Master.

"What happens here tonight will lay the ground work for Over the Edge, and I will be very, _very _displeased with those who fail me tonight! Now...you have your tasks. Set to them."

As the Ministry dispersed, the Undertaker looked up at the ceiling, the candle light bathing his face in a eery mixture of darkness and light, and his smile, if one could call it that, was truly the embodiment of evil.

_**WWF**_

"You know, with the Undertakers henchmen running around here, it's really not that safe for you to be walking around on your own."

Shane stood a few feet behind his quarry, whom he'd finally found in one of the receiving drive ways. She was perched on top one of the cement walls that served as the entrance into the underground tunnel where the cars were kept under the arena, looking at the nights sky. It was a 45 till the match, and he'd just now found her. She didn't seem to have heard him, so he walked closer until he was sure he was standing in her peripheral vision. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Jaina cut him off.

"I'm hardly in need of your protection, Shane. I'm fine out there by myself."

"Oh, well..." Shane shrugged, sticking his hands in the pockets of his khaki's, "the next time the Undertaker has you against the ropes, I won't run out there with a chair to help you."

"Don't take it personally, Shane," Jaina rolled her eyes, letting her legs fall to straddle the concrete ledge, "I'd have said the same thing to Dad if he were out here right now."

"Yea, but he's not. I am."

"I appreciate you coming to find me, but shouldn't you two be...oh, I don't know, planning a strategy for your match tonight?"

"Well, we would be, but then you decided to leave all pissed off, which, by the way, you'll be happy to know that your father and I called a truce, but when you decided to leave, we had to go looking for you, so..." Shane crossed his arms, "here I am."

Jaina twisted her neck slightly to regard Shane, her tongue in the corner of her cheek in a thought full like look. "You and my father have a truce," she finally exclaimed, somewhat in disbelief.

"Yes, we have a truce, an accord, if you will. While the Undertaker and his Ministry are running around, we'll concentrate on running them, and not each other, out of the WWF...of course, he didn't put it..._exactly_ like that, but..." he shrugged.

"Look, the match is going to start in about 40 minutes...would you please do your father a huge favor, go back into the locker room, get ready for the match and stay there so that we can all come up with a game plan?" He heard her click her tongue once or twice, and was relieved when she saw her far leg swing over the concrete. "Shane, due respect, my father isn't the one who found me, so I think it's _you_ whom I would be doing the favor for."

"You know...I don't understand you. This was _your_ idea in the first place; last week, you were all but singing my praises with your father in the ring, thanking me for helping you out on the first night you came here." Shane's body moved closer to her's until his waist was just touching her shins. "Now, all of the sudden, I'm like some parasite that you can hardly look at, let alone speak to." He was glad that she had the decency to look at the ground, slightly ashamed at her tone with him as of late. But he also found that he didn't like that look of embarrassment on her, and he almost felt guilty for causing that expression on her lovely face...

"Yea..." Jaina shook her head, her blond hair falling over her shoulders as she looked back up at him, smiling tightly, "I'm sorry. Just....Undertakers message tonight kind of got to me, then you and my father agree to be partners for tonight and all you can do is fight..." she chuckled nervously, "all that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, you know what I mean?"

"Well," Shane held his arms out to her, offering to help her down, "let's see if we can change that, shall we?"

Jaina was perfectly capable of jumping down herself; after all, she'd gotten on top of the ledge on her own...course, all she'd had to do was walk to the outside of the underground drive way, then toe her way back over to the back of the ledge, but it wasn't like Shane needed to know that.

She cocked her head to the side, but shortly there after, decided to humor him, placing her hands on his shoulders as he took her by the waist and set her down in front of him, making the movement kind of fast, just to give her a thrill. She laughed lightly as her feet touched the ground and she looked up at him. "Thanks for that."

"No problem," Shane murmured. It was at that second that they were each caught off guard by the other's eyes, Jaina looking up at him, Shane looking down on her, both their faces a mix of wonder, curiosity, and just the slightest bit of attraction. Neither had removed their hands from the others body, and Jaina could feel her hands slide down Shane's arms, surprisingly strong, well muscled arms. He wore long shirts most of the time, and it just didn't seem like Shane could have as much strength as she felt within him, but he did. She felt Shane's fingers wrapped around her waist, her stomach gently brushing against his.

"The match," Shane managed to ground out, and Jaina immediately let her hands fall. "Right, the match, the game plan..." She turned away from him, a bit of a kick in her step as she headed back for the locker room. Shane followed behind, the last words Austin had spoken to him circling his brain.

_**WWF**_

Jaina walked ahead of her father and Shane, as Austin was still giving instructions on what exactly he wanted to do to the Undertaker that night. Shane had eventually backed off, realizing that he wasn't a professional wrestler, and as such, probably shouldn't be taking such a forward role in this match. However, he was assured a good amount of time with the Undertaker, and it wasn't as though Shane were completely helpless. He may not have been trained professionally, but the boy knew how to fight.

Jaina stood in front of the Gorilla, the entrance to the steps that would lead up to the ramp, wringing her fingers together unconsciously. Standing a few steps away, Shane and her dad were still discussing things. She couldn't hear what they were saying, so she just sat on the steps until they were ready to walk over.

"I ain't kiddin' Shane, the second you start hurtin' tag me in, or after I'm done with the dead jack ass, it's gonna be your ass I'm stompin next," Steve was absolutely not going to broker a negotiation with Shane on that fact. He already knew that once Shane entered the ring, the Undertaker was going to do his best to keep him on the opposite side of the ring from Steve as possible.

"And one more thing."

Shane groaned, but none the less turned back around. "Yes?" he said somewhat testily. Austin chose to ignore it however. He needed to say his last bit before the music hit; now would be the last time he'd be able to.

"Anything goes crazy out there, I don't give a damn what they do to me, you keep my baby girl away from it. I don't like ya, and I don't trust ya, but trust _me_ when I tell you that if the Ministry comes out and you run away like a chicken shit, leavin' my daughter out there to try and fight...the truce is off. Got it?"

Shane nodded. "Understood." Austin grunted.

"Let's get out there."

_**WWF**_

No one would have known the absolute wreck Jaina was on the inside as she walked down the ramp behind her father. As pissed off as her father was, Jaina exhibited an equal amount of calm and self assurance. There was no way that she would allow the Undertaker, or the Ministry for that matter, to see her questioning the wisdom of this match. All they would get to see was Shane and her father working together to give the Undertaker a beating he would never forget.

She smiled lightly at Shane as he sat on the middle rope for her, parting the bindings and allowing her easier access to the ring. While Shane bounced around slightly in his trademark baseball jersey and black pants, her father was ramping up the crowd, yelling the trash talk that she loved to hear from him so much.

Oh yea, the Undertaker didn't know what he was in for.

Speaking of the devil, Austin's music cut out suddenly and was replaced by that dreaded bell, or as Jaina liked to call it, 'That Damned Donging'. She was expecting Paul Bearer to come out and stand beside Taker, but she was wrong. Dead wrong. Instead, it appeared that a couple of vampires had decided to make their way down to ring side with their Master. Jaina was shaking her head from her position behind the ring parallel to the ramp. Edge and Christian...what were they doing out here?

But the two brothers didn't get into the ring; instead, they stayed on the floor, near the turnbuckle the Undertaker normally made his entrance at, their arms crossed, faces blank, watching their Master. Jaina looked up at Shane, and had just enough time to say 'They're up to something' before the lights had quickly come up and the music had gone off. The reason being; her father just couldn't wait to beat the shit out of the Phenom. He had flown at the Undertaker, knocking him against the post and kneeing him repeatedly in the stomach and pelvic area until the Undertaker literally fell out of the corner onto the mat. Austin walked around the body, continuing to kick at the lower back and kidney area's, the Undertakers painful grunts of pain echoing through the arena as he tried to get to his feet.

As Austin continued to take the pain to the Undertaker, Shane carefully watched the ramp while Jaina kept her eyes on the two vampiric creatures on the other side of the ring. They weren't saying anything, they weren't moving...it was like they weren't even seeing what was going on. They just stood there, their eyes locked on the two men fighting.

"Something isn't right about those two," she called up to Shane, who nodded in agreement. "Nothing we can do about it until after the match," he called back down. Jaina paced the length of the ring, her hands on her hips, fingers drumming her sides. The Undertaker had gotten a second wind it seemed and was now lashing her father with his huge fists, hitting where ever there was an opening. She watched the Undertaker wrap both hands around her father's throat, pick him up, and toss him across the mat as though he were a sack of potato's.

"Dad, get over here! Tag Shane!" The blonde bit her lip, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Her father was lying near one of the turn buckles closer to the ramp and she crossed over there, sticking her head between the bottom rope and the mat, pounding her hands on the ring floor. "Get up, Dad, you have to get up! Get-Oh!"

She hadn't seen The Undertaker stalking his way toward her, and she just managed to get out of his grasp as his hand slipped on her hair. Her hands were on top of her head, watching The Undertaker as he picked her father up and shoved him towards one side of ropes. The Phenom leaned forward, intending to somersault Austin backwards when he bounced off the ropes, but Steve knew that trick very well; it was one of his own favorite moves, and he managed to stop just in time to deliver a swift kick to the stomach, and then a shattering stunner to The Undertaker. Austin bounced off the mat and lie still for a moment, before blinking his eyes open. He heard his daughter yelling at him to tag in Shane, but for that to happen, he had to figure out which corner Shane was in first.

"Behind you, Austin, right behind you!" Shane directed him. He was standing on the bottom rope, leaning in as far as he could to get the tag. His attention diverted momentarily to Edge and Christian, but they still hadn't moved or made any notice of how the match had turned. When he felt a hard slap hit his hand, Shane dove into the ring, delivering an elbow drop to The Undertaker while he was still down. Taking a quick inventory of which turnbuckle The Undertaker was closest to, Shane made his way toward it, climbing up the post and looking down at his prey. So far so good. Taking a leap of faith, he launched his way toward the dead man.

Everything had been going great until the last possible second, when the Undertaker sat up, causing Shane to land on his stomach in the ring. Jaina winced as she heard the sickening groan of pain as Shane hit. She looked at her father, leaning against the side of the ring, but he was to busy getting his bearings again. "Shane stand up! Stand up, you've got to get up!"

But it was too late. The Undertaker was pissed now, everyone in the arena could see it, and he was going to take his anger out on Shane McMahon. He pushed Shane toward rope side and as the man came back toward him, The Undertaker sank him with a clothesline. Shane's back hit the mat with a sickening smack and he lay there, prone for a few moments.

"Dad, feelin' better yet?" She asked worriedly. At least it looked like he knew where was. He nodded a few times, climbing back up the steps and taking stock of the situation. Shane was now up again, thrown into one of the corners with The Undertaker chopping his chest. Austin shook his head. Shane McMahon wasn't exactly his favorite person in the world, but he had to admit, the kid had heart. Seeing the Undertaker preparing to send Shane into the corner that Austin and Jaina were standing at, Steve moved to the side, then moved closely toward Shane.

"When I tell ya to move, move, ya hear me?" He asked, watching the Undertaker walk around, taking his time. When he charged, Austin yelled at him to move, and move Shane did. He didn't care where, just out of the corner would be good for him. As The Undertaker sagged against the turnbuckle, Austin stepped over the mans arms. "Tag me in, McMahon, let me in there!"

Jaina ran back around the steps, trying to get within Shane's sight line. She pointed the direction he was supposed to go, and Shane began crawling back, exerting his last breath of effort as he launched himself at Steve's hand, making the connection, and the crowd went insane as Austin bounced through the ropes, picking The Undertaker up and pushing him into the corner, delivering chop after chop after brutal chop to the dead man's chest. A series of maneuvers later found The Undertaker bouncing off the ropes and receiving yet another stunner from Austin. The Undertaker lay prone in the ring, and Austin covered him, getting the count just before The Undertaker could kick out. He heard the bell ring and rolled off Taker, looking immediately for Jaina. He saw her, tending to Shane who was curled into somewhat of a fetal position near their corner, still on the ring. He grinned; the little wuss hadn't done so bad after all.

"Shane..." Jaina lowered her face down to his, which she could barely see. "Shane, are you alright?" She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the briefest of glimpse of a nod as he rolled on his back, his legs bent as the knee as he tried to catch his breath and block out the pain in his back. "Did we win?"

"Yea...yea, we won..." She looked up as her father caught two cans of beer. "Dad's celebrating right now." She put her hands on his arms, trying to help him sit up. "Well, we can't miss that, can we?" Shane grinned, rolling to his knees and pulling himself up on the ropes, leaning against them for support as Jaina hopped up the steps and into the ring, glaring at The Undertaker and his lackeys...

Who were no longer ring side.

"Shane! Edge, Christian!" She pointed to where they'd stood the entire match. Shane warily glanced over toward the corner they'd been in and closed his eyes. Unfortunately for Jaina and Shane, they'd realized it to late.

Austin was in the process of drinking his beers when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye coming from the ramp. He quickly hopped off the turnbuckles and took a few steps back, wiping his mouth, glaring at the what he saw coming down the top of the ramp.

The entire Ministry.

Steve heard his daughters scream to late, and when he turned around, his neck walked right into the awaiting hand of The Undertaker. "Son of a bitch!" Austin was up and slammed down to the mat just as quickly and the impact severely dazed him. He vaguely saw the man raise his arm up, signaling for his Ministry to get in the ring. He tried to get back up, but Taker delivered a swift elbow drop, and it was all Stone Cold could do to just stay conscious.

"Not again," Jaina murmured, shaking her head, "Shane we have to help him!"

But instead of him trying to help her get to her father, Jaina found Shane pushing her out of the ring. She screamed at him, wanting to know what he was doing, but he grabbed a hold of her arms. "Listen to me! This is what your dad and I were talking about earlier; he knew something like this was going to happen, he told me to get you out of here if it did. I'm not going to have a pissed rattlesnake on my ass, so let's go!"

Unfortunately, they'd waited to long. The ministry had all access to the ramp blocked, and The Undertaker was still in the ring, except now his attention was focused on the two young people trying to figure a way out of the mess they were in.

"Go through the crowd, go!" Shane pushed her towards one of the security walls, but suddenly, Edge appeared on the other side of it, shaking his head smugly. He pointed back toward the ring, indicating that was where they were going to wind up, whether they liked it or not. Still, that didn't stop either of them from trying to go the other way, but they were met by Christian, and now Gangrel. Jaina swallowed, backing away from them a little bit until she ran into Shane. She looked over her shoulder at him and knew their only choice was to climb into the ring and slide through to the other side to the ramp.

Without thinking, Shane shoved her into the ring and climbed in after her. Jaina started towards the other side but The Undertaker blocked her path, and she stumbled backwards into Shane, who managed to steady her. By this time, the entire ring was surrounded. There was no way out for them. Jaina frantically looked around, thinking that maybe if she looked hard enough, she'd find a hole that she could fit through, but even when she turned around, she saw Gangrel smiling viciously up at her. There was nothing she could do but face the music, and face The Undertaker. She gave a sidelong glance at Shane, and she knew he could tell she was petrified. He nodded at her; everything would work out.

Paul Bearer climbed into the ring, a microphone in his hands. "This is what happens when children play with fire!" He yelled in that horrible voice of his. Jaina literally winced at the painful tones he used. "Jaina Austin, Shane McMahon, both of you wanted to stir the wrath of the dark side, and you did! But I wonder what it got you?" Bearer pointed down at Austin, who still had not moved one bit. "Viscera, Midian...help Stone Cold Steve Austin to his final resting place!" His haunting laugh filled the arena, and Jaina could stand it no longer. Without warning, she launched herself at the fat bastard, slamming into him and punching him for everything she was worth. She wasn't on him long though as a cold, hard hand reached for the back of her neck and pulled her off. She was in one of The Undertakers hands, and the mic that Paul had dropped when she'd attacked him was now in his other.

"What are you doing with him!?" Her voice carried into the microphone as he turned her away from Austin's body, now being carried up the ramp. His hand slipped down around her throat and he held her back fast to his chest, his lips right near her ear. When she'd launched herself at Bearer, Shane had been attacked as well. He was now pinned by the brood, and struggle though he may, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Shane McMahon...your soul is mine for the taking anytime I wish," he tightened his hold on Jaina, whose fingers were now clawing at the dead man's trying to losen his grip, "what I did to your sister, my Master sanctioned. But that compared to what I'm going to do to you..." he smiled maliciously, and Shane, even if he wanted to look away now, couldn't. He was transfixed on the mad man in front of him. "I told you someone would be sacrificed to the Ministry tonight, but your time will come, young McMahon. My Master has plans for you, and you will serve me as I serve him; with flawless and undying loyalty. For now, you both can watch the so called 'Rattlesnake' as he becomes one with the Ministry."

A sob reached the microphone and The Undertaker tilted Jaina's face toward his just a little. "Oh, don't worry, my dear. There's a place for you in the Ministry as well. A place that is unlike any other." He turned her around so that now she was looking toward the titantron, and she let out a shocked scream.

Her father was hanging on one of The Undertakers symbols, tied to it, struggling to get down off of it. "Your place can be at my side until the End of Days," he murmured, snaking his tongue out at her, "but until that time, you can watch your father as I take him, mind, body, and

soul!"

"You damn coward! You can't fight him one on one, deal with this like a man!?" Jaina was actively struggling against him now, lifting her legs into the air to try and gain some leverage, but it was no use.

"I am more than a mere mortal, Jaina," he hissed, "I know everything, I hear everything...and I s_ee_ everything. I watched you tonight with him," he nodded his head toward Shane, who was still pinned down to the mat, though not for lack of trying to get away, "I wonder how your father would feel, seeing you and him so...comfortable together. I saw everything, the look in your eyes as he touched you, the excitement, the fear, the longing...all those things, I felt it with you. I can see into your very _soul _Jaina Austin. And you will never be able to hide from me as long as I want you. And I _will_ have you. Or," he slowly looked at Shane, and the young man gulped, "I can sacrifice him as well."

With that, The Undertaker, feeling his point was made, dropped Jaina to the mat and stood over her, watching her scramble as far away from him as she could possibly get. It gratified him to know that she was wiping tears; that meant she'd known what she had awakened in him. He watched her stare at her father, still hanging from that symbol, powerless to do anything. She was spirited, he knew. She was stubborn, willful, nearly fearless.

But she was also human. She had a soul, she had _feelings_. And it would be those feelings that would cause her to break, once and for all. Willingly or unwillingly, it mattered not to The Undertaker. She would come to him. He could feel the power within her.

She would be his, one way, or another.

**WWF**

"I'm telling you man, this storyline...this is gonna sink WCW for sure," Mark said over a beer back at the Sheraton Palace. He, Shane, Jaina, Steve, and a few members of the ministry, including Edge and Christian, better known outside the ring as Adam Copeland and Jason Reso. "Hey, as long as we win the Monday Night Wars, I don't care if they stick around or get wiped off the face of the planet." Shane was holding a bottle of beer in his hands, and his other arms was resting across the back of Jaina's chair.

"I just think that if they came under better management, they might be able to actually do something," Jaina piped up, but her father shook his head. "Jay, your lookin' at a guy that they said wouldn't amount to anything...they told me my Texas attitude wasn't gonna work with the fans, they said that I was to small to win a World Heavy Weight Title, they just told me, 'sorry Steve, but you're not talented enough,' and I'm not the only one they said that to. The reason they're in the hole right now is because they wanted an instant gratification; they didn't wanna work with us 'low' wrestlers, they wanted a superstar to just pop right out at them."

The others at the table murmured their agreement. Some of them had had the misfortune of working with in the WCW, some of them hadn't, but it was well known in wrestling circles that the WCW did not treat many of their employee's with respect. A Kayfabe didn't exist with them; 80% of the time, the nastiness that happened in the ring was real problems boiling over from the locker room and on to the camera.

"It was really awesome tonight though," she grinned and pointed at Mark, "I thought for sure you were gonna throw me right through that mat! I nearly peed my pants!"

"Yea, well, I thought about doing that, then I remembered dear old dad was hanging around and..." Mark sniffed and shrugged, "I dunno, I kinda value my life, you know? I'd like to have a couple kids with Sara one day-"

"Alright, alright, that's good Mark, I don't think we need to go any further with that," Steve shook his head, smirking somewhat. The man's in ring persona was so different from what he was out of the ring, and it took a man with some true talent to make it believable.

"Well, I'll be on the plane home tomorrow morning; I can't wait to see the ratings for the show. We keep it up like this..." Shane shrugged, "who knows? The WWF might be able to actually _buy_ Ted Turner out."

"Here's hoping," Adam cheered his beer and the others did the same, "get those wrestlers into an organization where they can actually go somewhere with their talent."

"Here here!" Everyone took a nice long drink, most finishing off what they already had in their bottle or pint.

"Alright, that's it for me," Jaina left her beer on the table, getting up, "I've got an early flight home tomorrow. I'll see you guys this Sunday," She leaned down, kissing the top of Shane's head, much to the delight of everyone else. She walked out of the restaurant hearing behind her the sounds of good natured teasing the other men were giving her boyfriend. _I really should go back there and take him away from all that_ she thought to herself as she stood in front of the elevator. When she heard the bell ring, she shook her head, grinning as she stepped on the lift.

_Naaahhh!_

**WWF**

Jaina had just gotten out of the shower, changing into sweat pants and a black wife beater when she heard the knock at her door. Looking through the peep hole, she grinned and opened the door, inviting Shane in.

"You have no idea what I just went through," he complained, flopping on her bed, "I just spent 45 minutes downstairs being interrogated by The Undertaker."

"The Undertaker?" Jaina frowned, sitting beside him on the bed. "You mean, Mark."

"No, no," Shane held a finger up, a knowing look on his face, "he gave me a special performance of the Deadman." Jaina laughed out loud, falling onto the bed, but bit her lip when Shane looked at her, a mock perturbed expression on his face.

"You know Dad probably put him up to it," she said, stand up and walking to stand in front of him, "he's doing to you what he did to a few of my other boyfriends; it's just that this time, he has his buddies around to do it because I have a boyfriend who's in the business now."

"Oh come on, don't pout," Jaina continued, taking his face in her hands, "I promise they'll stop...you know, when you're dead or...if we..."

"Break up?" He supplied. He slipped his hands around her waist, pulling her towards him until she was straddling him. "Don't think there's much chance of that happening at the moment, do you?"

"Nope, not at all," she ducked her head to kiss him, slipping her tongue past his lips and into a warm and inviting mouth. Unlike the other night where he'd dominated her and fought for control until she gave it, he allowed himself the simple pleasure of giving her the chance to kiss him without one upping her. He simply held onto her, letting her explore his mouth until she pulled away, looking into smokey eyes laden with lust and affection.

"Like that?"

"More and more every time," Jaina nodded, resting her forehead against his, "stay?"

Shane groaned; it was hard to refuse her when she asked him with a voice that screamed passion but did it so softly. However, he knew that if he stayed, things had the potential to go a lot further than what they had the pervious night.

"You have an early flight tomorrow," he reminded her. She pulled back from him a bit, searching his eyes. "Is that an excuse I just heard come out of your mouth?"

"No," Shane quickly covered, "no, no, no...I just remembered you saying that you had an early flight and its...1:30am as it is..." he trailed off, noticing that Jaina was not buying any of what he was saying. "I don't want to push you into doing something you might not be ready for," he finally murmured, brushing his thumb against her cheek affectionately, "if I stay...well," he smirked, looking up at her again, "I might not be able to control myself."

"Shane..." Jaina ducked her head, slightly embarrassed, "I didn't ask you to stay to...you know... 'stay'. I just wanted to spend the night with you, nothing more, I promise," a crafty look came on her face, "but it's not like I'd be opposed to things getting a little out of control, if you know what I mean." To prove her point, she ground into Shane and watched with silent glee as the mans eyes rolled slightly into the back of his head. "Early flight tomorrow," he managed to eek out, before Jaina rolled her hips once more with more pressure than the first time.

"Not really caring," she whispered, pushing him down softly on the bed, claiming his mouth for her own.

**WWF**

"Morning Dad," Jaina padded down the stairs in her sweats and a tank top, her hair pulled into a pony tail, and opened up the fridge, scrounging around for some orange juice.

"Mornin' baby girl, sleep well?"

"Yep, I just woke up and had this ridiculous craving for orange juice," Jaina's head popped out of the refrigerator and in her hand was a carton of orange juice. She hopped up on the counter and opened it, drinking the liquid straight from the source. Austin shook his head as Jaina kept chugging.

"I swear you'd pass for a man if you'd just cut your hair."

"Well, I was heading to the mall today," Jaina raised her eyebrows, "maybe I'll just get a buzz cut while I'm there."

"I don't think so," Steve sat on one of the stools just underneath the breakfast island.

"Joking, Dad."

"No, I mean about the mall. No mall today." He watched Jaina frown and put the carton down on the counter. "Am I being punished for something?"

"No. Go on upstairs, get some workout clothes on; you and me are headin' to the training center today."

"I thought you didn't want to get in the ring with me," Jaina reminded him, sliding off the counter and putting the juice back, "thought you said you were gonna maybe take it easy on me."

"Yea well, you've hit the mat a couple times since then. I know you can take what I dish out to ya." He motioned for her to get up the stairs. "Ten minutes, then we're going."

**WWF**

"So, I've been thinking how you and Jaina can spend some more time together."

Shane looked up as his sister dropped into the chair across from him, his fork half way to his mouth when his lunch was interrupted. Stephanie was still talking, and from the excitement he could see on her face, he could tell that he was not going to be having a peaceful meal anytime soon. So, he put down his fork and signaled his waitress to bring Stephanie a water with lime in it, then settled in, tuning into what his sister was saying.

"Why don't you invite Jaina to spend a week a month with you?" she was saying eagerly, "I mean, it's beneficial for both of you; you don't have to wait six days to see each other, you guys can actually spend night after night together, she and I can hang out while you're dealing with company business-"

"Uh, you have company business to deal with too, Steph," Shane reminded her.

"Yea, but not nearly as much as you have. I just now graduated from Boston University, and Daddy said I didn't have to start my day to day job until the fall, since he wanted to give me the summer as a graduation present. So, she and I can hang out while you're still working. Oh, thanks," Stephanie said to the waiter and took a long sip if water before asking, "so, what do you think?"

Shane quirked his lips a bit, then went back to eating his salad. "I'm ordering mozzarella sticks, you want some?"

"Shane, listen to me."

"No."

"Why not? It's a great idea! You guys miss each other for five or six days straight, I hear those sappy phone calls you give her every day, you only get one day a week to actually spend _together_...that's no way to cultivate a relationship Shane." She crossed her arms and looked him with such an intelligence that Shane had to laugh.

"You do realize that, as of this Monday, we will have only been dating for two weeks, right?"

"So what? It's more like you've been dating for two days since that's all you have seen of each other." She leaned forward. "Honestly Shane, I haven't seen you this happy since you were with Lauren a few years back-"

"Can we please not mention her?" Shane rolled his eyes. Yes, he had been happy with Lauren...until Lauren decided she wasn't happy with him and started another relationship, without telling him. "Besides, there's a flaw in your plan."

Stephanie arched an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Smackdown! is premiering next Thursday, so we'll be able to see each other through out the week."

"Oh wow, two whole days," his sister grumbled, "look, just talk to her about it? I think she'd agree with you."

The waitress had come to the table and Shane was putting in their order. Since they came to this restaurant all the time, he knew what Stephanie would want, so he didn't bother to ask her if she was hungry; his sister loved Italian food, and The Little Italian Restaurant was her favorite eatery. After the girl had left, Shane asked, "How do you know she'd agree with me?"

Stephanie grinned. "Because-"

"You talked to her already," Shane finished for her, sighing and leaning back. He was finally beginning to understand exactly what his father meant when he said that women ran the household in every way, whether the man wanted it that way or not.

"Shane come on, you make it sound like I went behind your back or something!"

"Did you talk to me before talking to Jaina about your little idea?"

"Well no, but-"

"Then you went behind my back," Shane said in finality, "look, Steph, I'm your brother, and I know you're just looking out for me and you want me to be happy, but did you ever consider that maybe I'm happy with the way things are arranged right now?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you're not, Shane. If you were happy with the way things were right now, you wouldn't be calling her every day, you wouldn't be flying into the host city the day before the show to spend some quality time with her, and if you weren't even half way considering it, we wouldn't still be having this conversation." Stephanie looked at him smugly. "You like the idea, you just scared."

"See, this is what happens when you send women to college; they come out thinking they know everything," Shane joked.

"Nope, we know everything from the day we're born. College just gives us a chance to show it off."


	4. Over the Edge AN inside

1Authors Note: For those of you that are familiar with this infamous date, I'm sure you will understand the meaning behind this. For those of you who are not as familiar with this date, I will explain it.

May 23, 1999, Over the Edge played out in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Unfortunately for one of the wrestlers, this would be the last time he would ever perform. Owen Hart fell almost 70 feet from the rafters in a stunt gone horribly wrong. How _exactly_ this happened still remains a mystery. Many say that it was a tragic accident, but there are some who believe that Owen Hart may have ended his own life.

It is because of those conflicting reasons that I will not be writing about Owen Harts death in this fiction. For one, there is still some controversy surrounding his death, and I wouldn't feel comfortable stating as fact how he died when I honestly don't know; I'm not a member of the Hart family. Number two, this event struck people so hard, especially Owen's family, and if by chance someone who personally knew Owen were to read this, I would hate for them to think that I was disrespecting Owen by writing about his death in a way that they may not deem appropriate.

Now, all this is not to say that Owen's death in this story never happened; it did. However, it won't be mentioned at all, not even in a passing news footage that Jaina may be watching or a phone conversation that Shane and Vince may have. It won't be mentioned period, and that is out of respect for the Hart family and Owen's memory.

**WWF**

Sunday came quickly for Shane. It seemed like he hadn't been in Kansas City, Missouri for a full 24 hours, but he had. He'd arrived the day before, as was now customary for he and Jaina, so as they would be able to have some alone time together. The Friday before she flew out, he'd called her about canceling her reservation. "What's the point in both of us having a room to ourselves? We've spent the last few nights together in your room; why not just stay with me?"

After talking her into his idea (she was a bit worried about how her father would feel about the situation), she'd called the hotel and canceled her reservation, letting the clerk know that she was still coming to the hotel, but that she'd be staying in her boyfriends room.

Now, it was 8:30 Sunday morning, and Shane was brewing coffee. He needed to be at the Kemper arena no later than 9:30, but the hotel was only about a mile and a half away, so he could afford to sleep in a little this morning. Jaina on the other hand...

He called her name softly, walking over by the side of the bed and sitting down on it. She had the covers all the way up to her eyes, which were blinking rapidly. She was dreaming, and that meant it was going to be a bit harder to wake her up. He gently shook her shoulder, but she was having none of it. Instead of turning over, she swatted at his hand and burrowed further underneath the blankets, making a cute and at the same time, pathetic whimpering sound.

"You are way to attached to beds," he muttered, getting up and walking to the foot of the bed. He took two fist fulls of cloth and yanked hard, receiving a shout of surprise from his girlfriend, and then a very perturbed glare.

"What're you doing?" she half yelled, half mumbled incoherently. On the best of mornings, Jaina did not like being woken up before she felt like it, and that normally wasn't until after 10am. Therefore, having her nice warm covers ripped off of her at 8:30am was not only down right mean spirited, but it was grounds for the homicide of a certain, young multi-millionaire.

"I tried waking you up the nice way, but you weren't having any of that," Shane explained, making sure to gather the blankets to him so that she couldn't throw them back over her head, "so, I had to improvise. Besides, you still have to take a shower and do all that make up stuff that you girls do these days, and then we have to get over to the arena by 9:30, so..." he shrugged, leaving the rest of the sentence blank. He had to admit that Jaina looked adorable in her present state. She was wearing his boxers, her own tank top and socks. Her hair was matted to one side of her face, and she sat their blinking at him, her arms at her sides as though she were trying to figure out where exactly she was.

_That's exactly what she's probably trying to do, Shane._

"Food..." he heard her mutter, and he smiled. This was the sign that she was starting to wake up. Once she understood that her body was hungry, she knew she had to get up to feed it. Once she was up, she was up.

"We can get food from catering at the arena later," Shane told her, "but that will only happen if you hop in the shower and start getting ready."

"What about you?" Jaina yawned, stretching her arms and inching her feet towards the floor.

"I'm going to hop in after you." Shane knew he was being cruel; Jaina liked nice long, hot showers, but he also knew that if he went first and she went after him, they wouldn't get to the arena on time.

"This is you getting me back for not having sex with you yet, isn't it?" Jaina was getting out of bed and stumbling towards the bathroom, still trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "I don't give you sex, you don't give me long showers, is that the deal?"

Shane couldn't help from laughing. It was in the early morning when their age difference truly shone. Shane was 29 years old, just over five years Jaina's senior, so when she acted like this in the morning, it truly reminded him of just how close he was to turning 30 and of how much younger than he she was. But it still didn't bother him. When he turned 60, he knew that she'd be there to keep him young-if they got that far, that is.

**WWF**

It was around 12:30pm CST when Steve Austin arrived at the arena. As he checked in and headed to his assigned locker room, he made the rounds with the usual friends; Mark, Dwayne, Glenn, and so on and so forth. He knew he wouldn't see the McMahon's until they were finished with their pay per view meetings. Austin knew that Vince would have the creative team working up until the last second, and as for the production crew, including the truck, they would be testing their equipment over and over again to ensure that nothing went wrong. The news and paparazzi stories about McMahon held some weight: he was a tireless business man, who would do what was right for the business. Two years ago in Montreal proved that notion correct. But Vince also wasn't a monster to the wrestlers; if he could accommodate any of their requests, be it personally or professionally, and if it wouldn't hinder the day to day running of the WWF, he certainly tried to do what he could.

And, if Austin said so himself, Vince was quite the antagonist. He and his boss had a wonderful chemistry in the mat together. McMahon was the quint essential asshole of a boss, who didn't take no for an answer, who didn't care about his employee's, and who tried to screw those under them, with their pants on if possible, at any chance he got. Austin was the epitome of the employee who didn't take shit from anyone. How many people in the United States wished that they could go to their boss one morning and hold a toy gun to their bosses head, tell them that it was real, and then get their boss to pee their pants?

Or, how many disenfranchised employees were out there that seriously wanted to do bodily harm to their manager, but couldn't because of real life ramifications? What about giving their employer a beer bath, or filling their car with cement, or turning their own children against him or her?

90% of the American population wished that they could do to their bosses what Stone Cold Steve Austin did to his boss every Monday night; make their life a living Hell.

And WCW had told him that they couldn't do anything with black trunks and boots...

He made his way through the backstage area, up into the gorilla, and came out on the ramp which was already set up, looking around. The ring was half way done by now, but hanging above the ring was what Austin was really looking for: The Hell in a Cell.

Tonight was going to be one painful night indeed, but then again, he'd asked for it. When they were booking the matches for Over the Edge, Vince had asked Austin how he felt about a cage match. Steve had responded he really didn't care; First Blood, Hell in a Cell, Buried Alive, Lumberjack...what ever Vince had in mind, Steve could more than handle. Not but a few wrestlers stepped inside that steel cage, and for good reason. One had to be the best of the best to withstand some of the injuries that could come from that contraption.

He ambled down the ramp, hands in his pockets, looking around at the fast acting crew that was setting up both the English and Spanish announce tables, the ring, the security walls, the titantron, the mats on the floor...everything seen and unseen that was vital to the success of the show. As he continued down the ramp, he caught sight of a blonde head sitting in one of the chairs just behind the first part of the wall that had been set up. He walked over to her.

"Hey," he greeted, giving his daughter a peck on the forehead, "whatcha doin'?"

"Are you really gonna fight in there tonight?" She asked by way of answering his question.

"Jaina, you've seen me fight in there before. Everything's choreographed, Mark and I know what we're doin'. It'll be fine; yea, I'll be hurtin' real bad afterwards, but it ain't nothin' I ain't already used to." Austin leaned his forearms on the railing of the wall, watching his daughters face. This was the first time he'd seen her worried, truly worried about a match since she came to work with him. That was good in a way though; she was getting a ring side seat to a world that wasn't all just about entertainment. Career's were ended in that cell, bones were broken, muscles were torn...lives shattered.

"The McMahon's are still in creative meetings," he continued, hoping to turn her attention away from the large, foreboding cell and to something that she could (and should) really concentrate on, "I'm pretty sure they're making some changes for tonight, they always do."

Jaina smiled softly. "I all of them must dream about wrestling every night or something." She stood up and let her father help her over the wall.

"Hey, some of Vince's best storylines came from havin' dreams about them," Austin answered, "so, let's head on back to the locker room. I'll take ya out for some lunch." He gripped her shoulder once or twice, then put his arm around her and steered her back towards the ramp. Jaina gave one last look at the infamous cell before allowing herself to be led to the backstage area.

**WWF**

"Alright, so we need a meeting with Steve, Mark, you, and Jaina before the show starts," Vince was saying as the creative team filed out of the makeshift board room. Laptops, sheets of paper, pencils, pens, and various cell phones covered the desk area they sat in front of. It had been almost a two hour meeting, but it had been well worth it. Over the Edge was going to be quite possibly the best pay per view they'd ever had, and if it went off without a hitch, Vince was going to be a very happy man tonight.

"With Smackdown! Premiering later this week, this is really going to drive the storyline," the owner continued, "I really can't think of a more perfect line up than this."

"Nope, it's going to be pretty good," Shane said off handedly, rubbing his forehead tiredly. The creative meetings were fun, but they really took the energy out of him. His forte was more in the marketing department; after all, that was what he'd gone to school for. He was already over seeing the brand new website for the WWF and more commercial and clothing deals for their big name stars than he could count. Stephanie on the other hand, had always had a gift for creative ideas and brainstorming, and that was the department she wanted to run. Shane figured after a few years of learning all the ropes, their father would grant her request, but only if she could prove herself. There many people that thought Shane and Stephanie were just given the positions they held now; but both of them had started out at the bottom. They'd interned, done odd jobs, modeled clothing, worked the gritty jobs...Shane knew every inch of this business inside and out, due to Vince's insistence that he work in every department before heading up the marketing and promotional departments.

"Shane!"

"What?" Shane looked at Vince and realized only then that his father had been speaking to him. "Sorry," his face was slightly sheepish; Vince wasn't a fan of not being paid attention to when it came to business matters. "You were saying?"

"More like you were thinking," Vince sat in the chair next to his sign, tossing a few papers on top of the desk, "what about?"

"Um...nothing Dad, nothing important."

"Jaina Austin isn't important to you? Since when?" Vince smiled knowingly. Shane was a great bluffer, got it from his old man, but neither Vince nor Shane could hide when they were thinking about their significant others. Shane's face was almost a carbon copy of Vince's when his father thought about Linda.

"Yea, sorry," he apologized again. He was supposed to be focusing on work, not daydreaming about his girl friend. "What were we talking about?"

"Well, _I_ was talking about getting a meeting together with everyone involved in the ministry storyline, but that can wait for right now." Vince folded his hands across his stomach, regarding his son carefully. "Did something happen with you and Jaina?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Shane shifted in his seat, "I'm just...I don't know, I guess I'm just kind of amazed at how well we seem to click with each other. I mean, I've only been dating her for about two weeks, but it feels like we've been together a lot longer than that." He wasn't used to discussing things like this with his father, not that he didn't want to, it was just their lives were so busy and always focused on the family business that they didn't really have time for it anymore. "Was that how you and mom started out?"

"Shane, your mother and I...well, when I met her, she was just a hit right out of the park in every way imaginable. On our third date, I knew I was going to marry her." Vince shrugged. "Sometimes it just happens like that. Why, are you thinking of running out to the nearest jewelry store?"

Shane laughed. "I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind, but...it's only been two weeks. And if I'm being honest with myself, I don't think I want to get married just yet. I have too much to do with the business as it is, I don't want to add a wife and kids onto it, you know?"

"Well, just keep this in mind; you can have both, but the real question here isn't whether or not you want to marry Jaina anytime soon. Like you said, it's only been two weeks. The real question here is do you want Steve Austin for a father-in-law?" Vince rose from his chair and clapped his son on the back, as they both enjoyed a chuckle. "Now," Vince walked to the door, "get on the phone to Mark, Steve, and Jaina. Tell them I need them in a meeting around 4:00pm or so. See you then."

Shane nodded, twiddling his thumbs together as his father left the room. He needed some advice, some serious, womanly advice. He knocked his knuckles against the table a few times, then left the room, in search of getting some answers to a couple of very confusing questions.

**WWF**

"Thanks for lunch, Daddy," Jaina walked back with her father into the arena. It was now about 3:00pm, and both Austin's were full off of a wonderful lunch of ribs, fries, coleslaw, and a salad for each of them. Jaina had stayed away from the beer, opting for a simple coke while her father, a veteran drinker, had helped himself to a tall Budweiser.

"No problem, baby girl," Steve answered, "I feel like I needed to catch up with my daughter for a little while, especially in the relationship area."

"Yea well, I hope you like what you heard."

"As long as he treats you with respect and you're happy, I got no problems, Jaina, I told you that," Austin and Jaina walked down the backstage area hallways, passing various locker rooms until someone stuck their head out of one of them.

"Hey Steve," Mark Caloway's voiced echoed down the hall as the Austin's passed, "Vince wants us in a meeting in an hour. Something about the creative storyline tonight. Think he's got somethin' crazy planned?"

"Wouldn't be a pay per view without Vince having the writers re work something." Austin leaned his shoulder against the wall. "Jaina, go on back to the locker room and say good bye to the script ya got."

"Well, it's got to follow something of what we already have, right?" Jaina asked, looking from man to man.

"Don't even hope, kid," Mark snickered, "hell, the way Vince works sometimes, he'll completely change the main event match up if he thinks it'll be good for business...see you in an hour, Jaina," he said goodbye as she walked away from the two. "So, cell match tonight; any special requests?"

"Yea, when ya give that damn pile driver, don't break my neck," Austin walked into the room and sat down on one of the benches, "Jay's all worried about it."

"She's seen you in there before, what's she worried about?"

"She's never seen it up close. I've never brought her to an event where I'm in the cage. You shoulda seen her earlier today. She was starin' at the damn thing like it was gonna reach out and grab her."

"Hey, sometimes it does that. Just ask Mic Foley," Mark reminded his friend, thinking back to when an unscripted fall through the cage had stunned Man Kind for a good few minutes, "though I don't think we'll have to worry about that tonight. Vince had both cages re-enforced after that match with high carbon steel, so I don't think we'll be having that problem again anytime soon."

"If that's all I gotta worry about then I don't see a problem tonight."

"Oh, don't say that, don't ever say that," Mark whined. Steve looked at him amusingly. "Every time someone says that, something always goes wrong. Just you watch, I'll be ready to give you a tombstone and my back will spasm out."

"Well hey, if that's all I gotta worry about tonight, then I don't see the down side." Austin laughed, "I'll see ya later Mark."

**WWF**

"So...what do you think?"

Jaina looked at Shane. He'd dropped by her locker room after the meeting to see how she'd taken the news. She smiled and shrugged. "I think I'm going to need to run out to a gas station and grab some pain killers or something."

"Nah, you'll be able to handle it. It won't be much, probably just enough so that you'll feel it a little tomorrow morning...but actually, I was talking about the other thing." Shane's eyes twinkled as he leaned against the wall. "I was hoping you wouldn't be having a problem with that."

"Oh yea, I meant to catch Vince after the meeting about it," Jaina murmured, looking through the clothes she'd brought with her. It was her first pay per view, and she wanted to look amazing, sexy, and strong, all at the same time. "Guess I forgot to tell him that I really wasn't comfortable with it." She laughed out loud as Shane's face dropped slightly in surprise. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" She walked over, snaking her arms around his neck. "I think it'll be interesting, the fans will love it...the wild card is Dad. They've given him free reign on how to respond to it. That's what will be fun to watch."

She gave Shane a quick kiss on the mouth, but when she pulled away, he brought her back against him, continuing with the kiss she'd broken. _Thank God the door is already closed_ Jaina thought as Shane gently pushed her against the wall. She couldn't explain it, but she loved it when he trapped her like that. It gave her a kind of thrill that she couldn't describe. Maybe it was because it gave him better leverage to plunder her mouth with his tongue. At the end of every kiss though, she wasn't analyzing what turned her on and why. She was always more focused on the results, and this time was no different.

Shane broke the kiss finally, allowing his lips to just barely run over her swollen red ones. "Good thing you didn't put on any make up yet," he murmured, holding her tightly, "I'd probably look like a clown by now." Jaina opened her mouth to crack a joke, but Shane covered it with his hand. "No comments from the peanut gallery."

"You're no fun," she returned, kissing him softly and sweetly, "guess that's what I get for dating an older guy." She rested her head against Shane's chest for a few moments, both enjoying the feeling of just being together without any fans screaming or good natured taunting from the guys.

"Three hours until the show starts," Shane murmured, "you sure you're going to be okay with what's going to happen tonight?" It wasn't going to be anything to horrible, but Shane didn't want to push Jaina to far if she wasn't ready for some more action on screen. But she lifted her head and smiled. "I'll be fine; Dad and I already had this conversation. I'm good, I promise. I can take it."

"Okay. I have some more stuff to do, but I'll try and make it back before the show starts. If I don't, I'll see you during our segment, okay?" Shane cupped her face in his hands kissing her again before leaving, Jaina closing the door after him.

She'd dated her fair share of men, but none of them at this stage in her relationship compared to Shane McMahon. It had only been two weeks, but it felt like two years. She wondered if that was normal...she hadn't felt like that with any of her other boyfriends. But she pushed those thoughts away. She just really, really liked Shane, that was all. They connected well with one another, they loved the business that they were in, he was a chivalrous gentleman one hundred percent of the time, but he didn't believe she was some little girl that needed his protection...sure, Jaina was sure there were some flaws in there somewhere, but she had yet to see them.

Shrugging to herself, she headed back over to her bag, taking out various pieces of clothing and holding them in front of her.

This was going to take a while.

_**WWF**_

Over the Edge was completely sold out. From the box seats to the ring side seats and all the way up into the nose bleed section, the arena was filled to capacity. As the lights dimmed suddenly, the crowd reacted raucously. They knew something big was about to happen, and they were geared up for it.

The Undertaker's music filled the arena as the music's name sake made his way out from the entrance walk. There was no ramp for this event, only a 50 foot cement walk coming from an elaborate set up of film screens, lighting racks, and above them all, the looming screen that would hold the image of The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin's image all night. The Undertaker, with his ministry, made his way out to the ring, a sickeningly happy look on his face as he paused at the bottom of the walk way to look up at the steel cage that was dangling above him.

He entered the ring, the Ministry behind him as Paul Bearer walked around The Undertakers side, holding up a microphone for his Master.

"Austin...I hope you believe in a higher power...I hope you believe in something greater than yourself, because tonight," he looked up at the cage again, "when you and I step in that cell, you will be in my domain. If you thought being sacrificed earlier this week was the end of your misery, rest assured...it wasn't. When you step into this cell, Austin, you will be submitting yourself to your fate. And when I beat you...and I will _beat_ you, and the title belt belongs to me, I will thank you, Austin, because you will have given me the power I need to control the World Wrestling Federation."

"Hey!"

The Undertaker was caught off guard at a new voice entering the conversation. He looked around the ring, but there was no one to be found holding a mic or speaking. The ministry shrugged their shoulders, some of them getting out of the squared circle to walk around to see if anyone was hiding anywhere.

"I'm up here, ya jack ass!"

Well, there was no mistaking who was addressing The Undertaker now. On the main screen was Austin, a grin on his face as he took in the Ministry of Darkness in the ring. "Look at ya, your pathetic! Standing in that ring, shootin' your mouth off about how you're gonna whoop Stone Cold's ass...ya got me, and ya got me good last Monday, Undertaker, I'll give ya that, but do you think Stone Cold Steve Austin is gonna let that happen again? Uh uh! Which is why I have a little message from McMahon himself."

The Undertaker's expression grew from slightly annoyed to moderately pissed off. He stared coldly at the screen, waiting for Austin to go on.

"If any of your grubby little minions make it out to ring side tonight, or if they try to get in that cell, or in any other way try to interfere with that match, that damn bell will ring, and your ass will be disqualified!"

The Undertaker sneered as his allies around him voiced their discontent. So, Austin had gone to McMahon...that was odd. "Austin, if my Ministry makes you so nervous, you can simply forfeit that match to me right now. But going to McMahon...I never thought you for a coward, Austin."

"Nice try, Taker, but I didn't go to McMahon. I'm not the only one in the family with brains, but by the time I get done with your ass tonight, you'll be looking at your innards right in front of you on that mat, and that's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so!"

_**WWF**_

"That girl is more trouble than she's worth, Undertaker," Bearer complained, "because of her your match tonight is going to be fair...and, and honest, and...I can't even say the word."

"Silence, Paul...this can work to our advantage," The Undertaker turned around, gathering his men around his form, "Austin constantly underestimates me. Tonight, he's going to finally figure out that when he taunts darkness, the darkness will always win. For tonight, we stay here. No one leaves until my match."

"But what are we going to do?" Edge asked. "McMahon said no one is allowed to go near the ring, and Vince is liable to fix the match so Austin wins."

"Patience, Edge. McMahon and Austin have a dual problem; they always think they cover all their bases, but tonight...we're going to prove them wrong."

_**WWF**_

"Dad, please!"

"Dammit, Jaina, I said 'no'. That's my final word on it!" Austin was exasperated with his daughter. She wanted to come out to ring side with him, but Hell in Cell was no place for her. Even with the Ministry banned from ringside, it was still a no holds barred match and anything could happen out there.

"What did you bring me here for then? To cheer you on from the locker room where you can't hear me?" Jaina grabbed her jean jacket and set to putting her boots on. "I'm going to take a walk." She zipped up the shoes. "Be back later." She slammed the door behind her, walking off in a huff. She understood her father was worried about her, and in the back of her mind, she knew he had good reason, but dammit, she didn't care! She wanted to be out there with her father, for good or bad, and definitely if it was bad. Yes, The Undertaker unnerved her, but she wasn't about to let that stop her from doing that which she would normally do.

_**WWF**_

"Steph, I promise, I won't go out there tonight," Shane was on the phone with his sister, who pleading with him to simply stay in the backstage area that night and not get involved with anything. "I swear, I'll stay back here, I won't get involved in any of the Ministry's matches tonight, and I'll let Austin handle The Undertaker. It's a full cell match anyways, so it's not like I can get inside and do any damage."

Shane sighed and turned around. Stephanie was going to make a wonderful mother one day, but for right now, she was acting like she already was one. That was when he caught Jaina stalking toward his general direction. "Hey Stephanie, let me call you back, okay? I love you too, bye." He hung the phone up as Jaina headed past him, but he took hold of her arm to stop her.

"You look cheerful," he said sarcastically.

"Really? I was under the impression I looked pissed off, seeing as how that's the way I feel right now!" Jaina glared at him, wrenching her arm from his grasp as Shane took a few steps back. "Ooookay...." Jaina looked like she could hit anything at the moment, and Shane certainly didn't want it to be him.

"You uh...you want to maybe talk about what's bothering you so much?" Shane asked, a little hopefully. He'd actually enjoyed what little time they'd been able to spend together as of late, and after the past Monday night, he felt a kind of connection with her. He decided a different approach to get her to open up and simultaneously calm her down.

"Come on, I don't like to see a beautiful lady so angry. Why don't I get us both some coffee, and we can sit down and talk about what has you so upset." He raised his eyebrows, leaving the decision up to her, but he could tell that some of the anger had already seeped out of her face, being replaced lines of confusion. "Yea...sure," was all she could say as Shane nodded and held out his arm for her. "Shall we?"

Jaina couldn't help but look at him as though she were sizing him up, but whether she wanted it to or not, a small grin shone through, which dissipated most of the anger that was there. She bit her lip as she smiled, trying to hide it and took his arm, allowing her to lead her away from the camera's, the lights, and a few of the backstage crew and wrestlers who were looking on in a mix of interest and confusion.

_**WWF**_

Austin was brooding. Austin didn't brood, but at the moment, he could be considered to be brooding. He didn't like it when he and his daughter fought, but there were times where she was just to head strong for her own good. He supposed she got them from him; couldn't really blame her, could he?

He heard a knock at the door and got up to answer it, letting his annoyance show as Michael Cole stuck a microphone in his face. "Steve, we're just wondering how you were feeling about your match up with The Undertaker tonight?"

"How am I feelin'? What kind of stupid question is that, how do you think I'm feelin'? That son of a bitch has got what's comin' to him. After I get done with him, he's gonna be the one resting in peace."

"Stone Cold, we've heard that you're not going to allow your daughter at ringside tonight, would you like to explain why?"

Austin rolled his eyes, grabbing the door handle. "I don't want her at ringside tonight because no father would want their little girl to see him mangle a piece of trash like The Undertaker beyond recognition, are you done?"

Without waiting for an answer, Austin stepped back into his room and slammed the door shut, sitting back down on the sofa, rubbing the top of his head. Right now, Triple H was getting a pounding from The Rock; Austin grinned. Hunter Hearst Helmsley was in for a very rough night if he didn't shape up really soon.

_**WWF**_

"Look at it from your Dad's point of view," Shane was saying, "just because The Ministry isn't allowed out there doesn't mean that The Undertaker can't get to you. He's a master of getting out of the cell; remember the choke slam through the top of it that he gave Mankind? All he has to do is throw Austin against the side of the cell a couple of times to loosen it, and bam...he's out."

Jaina sighed and leaned her head back against the couch in Shane's private room, the coffee still warm in her hands. She'd calmed down somewhat, but she was still annoyed at her fathers attitude towards her doing her job, which was watching his back. However, she could appreciate more her fathers position in everything. "Yea, I guess you're right," she finally stated, taking a long sip of her drink.

"Well, I'll agree with anything when an Austin says a McMahon is right about something," Shane smiled, watching her as he also took a swig of his coffee. He lifted his arm so as his coat sleeve would rise up to look at his watch. "It's almost 10:15...you want me to walk with you back to your room?"

"Sure," Jaina clasped her cup with both hands, watching him as he got up and threw his cup away, "did you um...I don't know, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to watch my dad's match with me?" She got up and walked to stand in front of him. "You know, since I can't be out there with him?" Shane grinned at her, opening the door and offering his arm once again.

"I think that can be arranged_**."**_

_**WWF**_

Austin was livid. Standing in his doorway was the Billion Dollar Prince, and standing in the room was his daughter who had invited said Prince. "You've gotta be jokin' me," he muttered, glaring at Jaina.

"You won't let me out to the ring with you, so I wanted some company while I sat back here and watched the match." Jaina shrugged. "C'mon Dad, he helped you out last Monday night; it's not like I'm gonna get any McMahon juice on me."

Austin pointed at his daughter sternly while Shane cleared his throat awkwardly. "That's the last thing I wanna hear comin' from your mouth." Jaina laughed off his serious tone and kissed him on the cheek. "Dad, go out there, beat the crap out of Taker, then come back here and you and I will go have a drink on me, deal?"

Austin grunted an affirmative, but fixed Shane with a cold stare. "Try somethin' with her, I dare ya, I don't have a problem with whoopin two bastards' ass's tonight." Without waiting for an answer, Austin pushed past Shane and stalked down the hall, his gold belt in his hands. Jaina sighed and shook her head, motioning for Shane to sit on the couch. "As if I couldn't take care of myself if something _did_ happen," she grumbled.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that; I take the softer approach," Shane grinned, and Jaina couldn't help but smile back. He stretched his arm on the back of the couch and was glad when she leaned in, both of them sliding into an acceptable comfort level as on the television, The Undertaker made his way out to the ring.

_**WWF**_

Austin assessed his situation carefully as the door to the cage swung closed and was pad locked from the outside. On the other side of the ring, The Undertaker was smiling ferociously, beckoning Austin to him with his hands, and Austin didn't have to be told twice. He took a flying bear leap at the man and when they landed, Austin was on top, both in reality and figuratively. Huge fists began pounding the side of The Undertakers head as the crowd cheered him on, but eventually, The Undertaker kicked Stone Cold off of him and began his own assault, a serious brutal punches to the face that left Austin sagging against the turnbuckle.

The Undertaker, taking Austin by the back of the neck, dragged him out to the center of the ring, driving Austin's head between his knees and lifting him up, driving him back down to the mat in a vicious power bomb. A few elbow drops later, and Austin could hardly get up, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying. But The Undertaker didn't go for the cover just yet; he wanted Stone Cold out of the ring for a long time and he proved it by dragging him out of the ring and throwing his opponent against the side of the cell three times before Austin was finally able to get the upper hand by sliding of the back of The Undertaker and pushing him forward into the steel.

The Phenom bounced off the cage as Austin circled him before taking him down in a Bulldog. With Taker down, Austin set to stomping the man's lower back, stopping after about ten vicious kicks, giving his foot a rest as he picked The Undertaker back up and threw him into the side of the ring, running into him with his arm, then leaning down to shoulder him in the stomach.

The Undertaker sagged to the floor, and Austin grinned.

"Get up, ya son of a bitch, you don't get to rest in peace that easy!"

_**WWF**_

"Looks like your father has everything well in hand," Shane commented. Jaina nodded. "Looks like..." she trailed off, her eyes peeled to the screen. She watched as her father shoved the other man back into the ring, pick him up, and fling the Undertaker towards the opposite ropes. However, she sucked in a small breath of air as his opponent missed a clothesline, bounced off the other set of ropes, and flung himself at her father, both of them landing on the mat. Jaina groaned, biting her thumb nail nervously. She knew this wasn't going to be an easy match, or a short one either, but she desperately wanted it over with as soon as humanly (or demonically) possible.

_**WWF**_

Back in the ring, The Undertaker and Stone Cold were pummeling each other every chance they got. When one punch, the other would counter. When one would try to sling shot the other off the ropes, the other would reverse. 15 minutes into the match, and both men were reaching their breaking points, though they were still giving their all, and so far, not one interruption, from either the Ministry, or anyone who may either support Austin or hate The Undertaker enough to interfere on Stone Cold's behalf was to be found. Both wrestlers were completely disheveled, though no blood had been spilled yet.

Both of them were staggering around, and that was when Stone Cold got his second wind. As Taker reached for him, Austin grabbed his head, lifted his leg to kick the man in the stomach, and seized the opportunity to stun the man. The impact was so great that as Austin brought The Phenom down, he bounced off of Austin's shoulder and fell backwards into the mat. Knowing that the match needed to come to an end, Austin crawled over, flinging his body over his opponent in an effort to get the pin. The referee, who had stayed out of the way until now, had almost gotten a three count, but The Undertaker kicked out, forcing Austin to roll over and back away.

_**WWF**_

"_Dammit!"_ Jaina leaned forward, her face in her hands, wiping her hair back from her face. She was starting to get worried. The match had gone on for almost 20 minutes now, and with each passing moment, Jaina's nerves were becoming that much more frayed. "You know what, at this point, I don't really give a rats ass who wins the damn match, I just want it over with..."

Shane put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Just relax, alright? Everything's going to be okay."

Jaina chuckled. "You hate him, remember?" Shane shrugged. "Only because he's made my dad's life a living hell for two years." Jaina shook her head and looked back towards the television, ignoring the knock that came at the door. She didn't even notice Shane get up to answer it, her eyes still fixed on the screen, but when Shane gave a surprised 'hey!', she looked towards the exit and jumped to her feet.

"Hello, Jaina." Edge, Christian right behind him, grinned at her, baring his teeth. "Shane!" She tried to step forward, but she didn't even get her foot down as Edge and Christian grabbed an arm each and dragged her back towards the couch. As they did so, she saw the Acolytes, Viscera, Gangrel, and Mideon make their way into the room. She screamed as the latter three went to stomping and punching Shane, and the boy didn't have a prayers chance in Hell that he'd be able to get all three off of him. The Acolytes made their way over to the couch where Edge and Christian were forcing Jaina down on the cushions, holding her head so that her eyes were now on the t.v. and Jaina bit back a yelp as she saw that she was looking back at herself.

If she was on the television, then that meant....

_**WWF**_

"What the hell!?" Austin was caught off guard by a woman's scream, and instinct made him look at the screen monitors. He looked back at The Undertaker, and he'd never seen a more evil smile on the face of any man in his life. He pointed at the screen. "Ya bastard, I'm gonna put my foot in your ass for this!" But Austin was blinded by rage, and when he lurched at The Undertaker was ready for him. He caught Austin in a choke hold and plowed him through the mat, standing over a prone Austin when he was through. And then came his signature closing move, sliding his thumb across his throat to signal that he'd had enough. He dragged Austin to his feet, driving the mans head between his knees to place him correctly for the pile driver, which was administered savagely. Austin leg's fell over and he was unconscious lying in the ring.

_**WWF**_

"Daddy!" Jaina was struggling to get out from under the two men that had her pinned down, but with the Acolytes standing by just in case she managed to squirm free, she knew she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Or so she thought, but Edge was dragging her back up off the couch and he shoved her unceremoniously down to the floor. "We have a message for you," Edge murmured. "Directly from our Master," Christian continued. The four men who were in charge of her chuckled as she tried to make her way over to Shane, whose stomach was now being kicked in by three very big ministry members.

"You three can head on out to the ring," Edge nodded at them, "just wait for the bell to ring and the match is over so our Master isn't disqualified." The three men grunted and left, Gangrel delivering a cheap shot to Shane's head as he followed the other two men out.

"Now, as for our message," Edge reached down, yanking Jaina up by her hair as Bradshaw and Farooq stepped over her body, taking Shane's face roughly in his hands.

"The message, little one, is that you have very limited time left to prance around here as you do now." Edge knelt in front of her, his hand slipping under her chin, gripping so tightly that it made Jaina wince. She tried not to look at the face in front of her, in fact, she was trying to focus on Shane's already bloody forehead, but Edge wasn't having any of that. He jerked her face up so that she couldn't look at anything or anyone else but him. "He likes your spirit, Jaina Austin, so you should spend as much time with your father...and with your new 'friend'...as possible, because before long, he'll call you to stand beside him."

Jaina was seething, filled with rage, and she couldn't stand having Edges hands on her. She spat in his face in an effort to get him to let go of her, and she almost did it. The grips on her face and arms were loosened just enough so that she could land a good punch or two on Edge and rip herself away from Christian, but she fell over a very groggy Shane as she tried to stand up, smacking her head on the cement floor, stunning her for a few moments.

Her fall didn't go without it's reward though. It was enough to jar Shane back enough to realize what was going on, and when Bradshaw reached for him again, Shane slapped the hand away, kicking upwards with his foot into the acolytes testicle area. Bradshaw went down almost immediately as Shane and Jaina both tried to help the other up, but it was to no avail. While Edge shoved Jaina against a wall, Farooq and Christian lifted Shane to his feet, and while Christian forced Shane's chin as high as it would go, Farooq assaulted Shane with fiery quick knee's to his mid section, stepping back finally and letting Christian throw his head through the wall, which left a considerable dent in the structure.

"You should think very long and very hard about your next move, Jaina," Edge had her by the throat now and against the wall, and Jaina was finding it very difficult to breathe. She coughed slightly through tears that were threatening to fall, but Edge very gently, but none the less creepily, wiped her eyes with his thumb. "How you behave now will dictate whether or not he deals with you gently....or forcefully." With that, his hand still on her throat, he leaned her back from the wall a bit before shoving her back towards it, watching her crumple in a heap on the floor, partially on top of the unconscious McMahon.

"Let's head out to the ring." Edge led his brother and the Acolytes out of the locker room, taking care to close the door behind them, leaving Shane, Jaina, and a world of pain behind them.

**WWF**

By the time Steve finally made it back to the locker room after having visited the trainers, he found Jaina__and Shane sitting on the couch, Shane with a band aid on his forehead, and Jaina with a bag of eyes nursing the bump on the top of her skull. "You two sure are a sorry sight," he said, limping on over to them and dumping himself into a chair, "you alright?" He fixed his eyes on his daughter, who nodded, wincing slightly.

"I'm okay...I don't think my neck has a spine to support it anymore, but I'm okay."__She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the ice do it's job.

"I'd offer you a massage, but I'm worse than you are," Shane noted, "they went after me more than you."

"Well yea, they didn't want me damaged to badly," Jaina sniffed, "besides, you're the man. Of course they'd go after you more. You've taken worse than that before."

"Oh, okay, I'll just make sure to tell the writers to have Taker tombstone you tomorrow night," Shane mumbled, and Jaina stuck out her tongue in response.

"'scuse me," Steve raised his hand, and both young people looked at him, "oh, I just wanted to raise my hand to say somethin' since it seems like we're in kindergarten again._**"**_

"Very funny, Dad," Jaina rolled off the couch, pushing her dress down in the front as she walked across the room, grumbling in pain every few seconds, "the only consolation to this is tomorrow night when I get to have some fun. Trust me when I tell you, I'm looking forward to that!"

"Does the Ministry know what you're doing?" Shane asked as Austin twisted his body to look at her. Jaina shook her head, smirking. "Nope. The only person that knows anything is Mark, and he is going to be, of course, my grand finale." She went into the bathroom and closed the door as her father looked back at Shane.

"Almost makes me happy I won't be there tomorrow night."

Shane only laughed. He didn't know what Jaina had planned either, but he knew he was going to be in on the action, and he also knew that his girlfriend has a very devious mind when she put herself to it.

She must have gotten that from Daddy dearest.


	5. A Wench in the Plans

1Shane had an early flight out of Kansas City the next morning, and Steve and his daughter were on the next flight out. Many of the wrestlers were on the same flights together, and this was a new experience for Jaina. Austin had warned her that things could get a little rowdy on flights when the WWF flew together, and this plane was no exception. On her flight, she sat next to her father, and right behind them was Dwayne Johnson and Paul Levesque. Both men were discussing their card for the night and Austin was chiming in with his suggestions. As Jaina looked around, she noticed a boy of about 14 looking on at the three men in awe and confusion, and she held in a giggle. She knew he must be thinking, "wait a minute...these guys are supposed to hate each other!"

Oh, if he only knew. 'The Rock' and 'Stone Cold Steve Austin' were best friends outside of the ring, and the two men had a tendency to get a little out of hand whenever they were together. They were both fun loving guys and had sense's of humors that worked very well with each other. It was why they worked so well with dialogue when they were in the center of the ring going at each other verbally.

Jaina took the flight to nap. It was about a three hour flight to Miami, Florida, with a layover in Dallas/Fortworth where her father would be leaving her. It would be the first time that Jaina would be at a show by herself, but she couldn't wait. It would be interesting for her 'character' to be without her father for a show. Stone Cold was to be in a hospital after a horrendous beating by the Undertaker and the Ministry. To be honest, she'd watched her dad limp through the airport and onto the plane, but he hadn't said anything, so she didn't mention a word. He'd gone to the trainer after his match last night and gotten some tape around his ribs, but all the other injuries were bruises to the muscle that would have to heal on their own.

When they touched down in Dallas, Austin woke her up long enough to kiss her on the cheek goodbye and wish her a good show, and then he was off. She'd fly home tomorrow, then they would fly together to the Smackdown! Premiere and go on a whirlwind publicity tour for the next three days. Jaina was looking forward to that as she'd never been on a publicity tour or been a part of autograph signing's or anything of the like.

Thinking of what a wonderful few days it was going to be, Jaina watched her father leave the plane, then took advantage of the extra seat open to her and stretched her legs across it, her feet dangling in the aisle slightly. As she leaned her head against back of the seat, she felt someone tap her ankle. She glanced up, seeing Paul looking back at her. "What's up?"

"You wanna go over the DX thing tonight?"

Jaina moved her feet and motioned for Paul a.k.a. Triple H, to sit down. "If you're done talking with Dwayne about ya'll's altercation for the show."

"Yea, we're all set," Paul settled in and the two began plotting and planning their run in's for the night, Jaina forgetting her nap as she recited idea's all the way to Miami.

**WWF**

By the time she arrived at the American Airlines Arena, Jaina had her entire strategy for the night set. Only Mark knew what was going to go down, but even he didn't know the entire story, and that was the way he'd wanted it. He wanted to see how creative she could get, and he wanted to be totally surprised by the plans she'd made. So, she'd obliged him and only gave him the information that he asked for, not offering up anything else.

Shane had already called to tell her he'd checked into the Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel & Marina, so she simply walked up to the front desk and gave the clerk her name, at which point the employee gave her a room key and invited her to go on up to her room. She made her way up the elevator and was happy to enter the room, grinning at the sight of Shane's things already lying in place. She set her bags down next to his and flopped on the bed, sighing tiredly. Looking at the clock, she grinned. It was only about 1:00pm and she didn't have to be at the arena until 6:00pm for call.

"Nap time," she murmured, curling up on the bed and dozing off before she knew it.

**WWF**

Austin kicked back in his recliner, a beer in one hand, a beer case down by his feet, and another 12 pack of beer in the fridge ready to go. No, he probably wouldn't drink that much...then again, he might, depending on what happened on Raw that night. He was completely in the dark about what Jaina was planning; she'd said she'd wanted him to be surprised. He had a feeling he was either going to a) enjoy this show very much or b) drink to the point where he had no choice _but_ to enjoy it.

_**WWF**_

The Undertaker was the most satisfied he'd been in a long time. He'd finally won back the WWF Championship belt, he'd put Austin out of commission for at least the next week, and now he could implement the second part of his plan. As he knelt in front of the red hooded figure, he offered his master a grim look of contentment. For the moment, that was.

"The time is nearing," the unseen man acknowledged, "this Thursday seems the perfect moment to unveil our true mission here in the WWF."

"If that is your wish," The Undertaker bowed his head low, "we can begin taking the WWF piece by piece."

"It is. Now," The man rose from his chair, "what of your...shall we say, interest?"

"She is headstrong and willful, like her father, but she _is_ frightened; I can see it in her eyes. Don't worry, she will soon stand by my side and the Ministry's place in the WWF will be secure...no matter what it takes." The Undertaker, watching The Higher Power leave his presence and rolling his eyes in the back of his head. It would begin tonight, and by the end of King of the Ring, he would have his own Queen.

_**WWF**_

"Well folks, you just saw The Undertaker and The Higher Power, I guess, plotting and planning for what we can only assume will be a very interesting night tonight, and an even more interesting night when Smackdown! premieres this Thursday, live from the Philips Arena in Atlanta Georgia. Uh, King, it looks like we'll finally find out who this Higher Power is that The Undertaker answers to."

Jerry 'The King' Lawler shook his head, confused by what had just taken place. "Well, J.R., it's hard to imagine The Undertaker taking orders from _anyone_, but I guess this guy has some kind of power or hold over The Undertaker and-" Jerry cut himself off as his eyes caught a new figure moving on the titantron. "Hey, look who's here!"

"It's Jaina Austin and she does not look happy, King." Both men watched to the absolute excitement of the audience as Jaina, clad in low rise, light blue jeans with a belt, black heels, and an Austin 3:16 shirt tied just below her bust line and exposing her stomach, marched from the parking lot and into the arena. She carried with her a bag, but as soon as she was inside, tossed it from her body next to a crewman. "Watch that," she said shortly, continuing on her way.

"J.R. I think we're about to get an introduction to an all new Jaina Austin..." Jerry looked slightly scared as he continued to watch the furious blonde make her way out towards the ring area, her eyes flashing an anger that had not yet been seen by anyone in the WWF since her introduction one month ago.

"Well, folks, as you all know, Jaina Austin and her father, and Shane McMahon received a brutal beating from the Ministry of Darkness last night at Over the Edge. Let's take a look."

As the tape from Over the Edge went up, J.R. and The King continued to comment on how the beating took place, and the severe assault that Steve Austin endured after Edge, Christian, and the Acolytes left Jaina and Shane in a heap on the locker room floor. The tape showed Austin being cornered by every Ministry member in the ring, enduring a belly flop from Viscera, and a Tombstone Pile Driver from The Undertaker, the latter being through a table.

"After seeing that tape, King, you can understand why Jaina Austin might not be so happy right now," J.R. exclaimed, sitting back as the tape finished it's reel and the screen went blank once more. "Yea, but what I want to know is what is going on between her and Shane McMahon?" The King was grinning from ear to ear, but J.R. was having none of that. "That girl just went through a traumatic experience last night, her father is in the hospital-"

He was cut off as Stone Cold's music hit, and it didn't matter that it wasn't Steve Austin coming down the ramp in an angry, stomping tirade. If there was an Austin in the building, of either the male or female variety, and they were angry, the fans could be sure that the night was going to be a wonderful one of vengeance indeed. "You know, J.R., she's one of those women who is beautiful when she's angry!" Jerry obviously didn't understand that Jaina wasn't just angry; she was _pissed off._ Fiery tempers ran in her family, and she was no different. It seemed like tonight she was going to have to prove that she was no southern belle when it came to defending her own honor, and she did not have a problem with that. As the music died away, she stood in the center of the ring, tongue in cheek, glaring off in no direction in particular. She was contemplating how to start out her little speech as she meandered around the ring, fuming silently. When she finally was ready to speak, she flipped her long, blond hair back and looked toward the ramp.

"You know...it takes a lot for me to get to the point that I'm at right now," she scratched the back of her neck, "but I guess last night about did for me. You know, when you're sitting in your locker room, minding your own business, trying to make damn sure that your father doesn't get the shit beat out of him...and then suddenly, a group of sweaty, fat, disgusting, _bitches_ break in and assault me and my guest...I'm sure you'd get a little peeved, right?" She directed the question at the audience.

"But then, to add insult to injury...literally, I am held down on a couch by _four_, count em, _four_ men, forced to watch The Undertaker demolish my father, forced to watch Shane McMahon get pulverized by two of the most disgusting, wasteful blobs of crap I've ever seen in my life and a blond vampire wanna be whose read to many Anne Rice books!" Jaina walked backwards towards one of the turn buckles and leaned against it, waiting for the crowd to settle down.

"_And then!"_ Jaina continued, "and then, I am hauled over Shane McMahon's body who...ya know what, bless that man, tried to get up and fight back, but just like _that_ he was taken down by the rest of the wastes of air in the room...I'm hauled over and my head is shoved into a wall, and I'm given a little message. And that message went to the tune of 'you better watch out or the boogie man is gonna get ya'." She rose from her spot, the spark that had dulled in her eyes slightly as she'd been recounting the previous nights events now back full force as she kept on. "Undertaker, when I was a little girl, my Daddy would look in my closet and under my bed _every night_ before I went to sleep, and I gotta tell ya, there was never any boggie man there and eventually, I stopped believing in the boogie man and all the other monsters my friends at school would tell me about!"

"What I'm trying to say, Undertaker, is this; I'm not a little girl anymore, I don't believe in monsters, I'm not afraid of people that call themselves monsters, and whatever it is you want with me, you can garun-damn-tee that you are _never_ going to get it!" Jaina leaned against the ropes, signaling for a camera to come close to her. "Get over here, I want that dead ass to see my eyes when I say this!" Once the camera man was in position, Jaina leaned down close. "Undertaker...I might not be as strong as everyone else in the WWF. I might not be able to give you a stunner, and more than likely, my strongest punch wouldn't phase your weakest muscle. But get this through your nasty, grimy, greasy, thick skull; I will not live my life in fear of you. I will not be a coward. I might not be able to step in this ring with you, but I have other ways of fighting. And you, and the Ministry are going to discover some of those ways _tonight!_" With that said, Jaina threw the mic into the air and climbed out of the ring, heading back up the ramp and slapping a few hands of the fans as she went along.

Operation Dismantle Ministry had begun.

_**WWF**_

"She doesn't know what she's asking for," Edge watched Jaina as she walked up the monitor and out of sight of the camera's, Christian nodding in agreement beside him. The former turned to his leader. "Let me take care of her."

"No one is to harm her until I claim her as my own," The Undertaker glared hard at Edge. That was not up for negotiation. She needed to be as uninjured as possible. "I am already displeased at your treatment of her last night. I want no bruises on the body that will bare my heirs, is that understood?" The rest of the Ministry nodded in agreement as The Undertaker left them in the room.

"Dude, you really think she can do anything to us?" Christian was grinning from ear to ear, and the rest of the Ministry members snickered, shaking their heads.

_**WWF**_

Jaina was headed back to the little area she was calling her own that night, a small room that she'd commandeered earlier in the night that hadn't been taken. Being that she'd arrived at the arena just as the show had started, most of the private rooms had been taken up. She received a surprise though, as when she opened the door, it was none other than Shane McMahon who was there to greet her.

"Well, that was stupid."

"My head is fine, thanks for asking," Jaina shot back, slamming the door shut and placing her hands on her hips, "what did you want?" Shane looked back at her, a touch of a smile on his face as he spoke.

"Shane, I want to thank you so much for trying to protect me last night, even though I know you're injured far worse than I am right now," he mimicked her previous tone and Jaina grunted, signaling a truce. "Now will you tell me what you want?"

"Well, it's not so much what I want as what I can help you with."

"And that is?"

"You can't take on the entire Ministry tonight by yourself." Shane watched her roll her eyes and resisted the urge to do the same. "It's not a slight against you being a woman. In fact, I've only seen one man do it, and that's your father."

"And I've got his blood flowing through my veins, along with the fact that I inherited his temper, I am going to do this, whether anyone else thinks I can do it or not!" Jaina's hand slapped a wall, and she didn't let on that it actually hurt. Her adrenaline was pumping too hard right now for her to feel anything anyways. She'd realize it tomorrow though, that was certain.

"I know, that's why I'm offering my services."

Jaina peered at him closely, arching an eyebrow. "Your services?"

"Hey, you and your father weren't the only one's who got attacked last night, remember? I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, okay, I accept that. But that doesn't mean I don't want my part of the action too." Shane extended his hand to a chair that hadn't been in the room before Jaina had returned, urging her to sit down, which she did, albeit a bit warily. She and Shane got along fine, and sure, she was attracted to him, but he was a McMahon. He was Vinces' son, and just like she was a carbon copy of her father, Shane had proven to be a carbon copy of his.

She decided to test the theory.

"Okay," she sat down, glancing up at him, "but let's go over a few things first. Number one, you've been known to screw my father in the past, so how do I know you're not in on this whole thing?" She watched Shane's face very carefully, and was slightly surprised to see a glimpse of momentary confusion on his face. "In on...Jaina, I just got my ass beat last night by three separate guys, plus, I gave my word not to screw your Dad on this one. Remember, I don't screw him, he doesn't 'whoop' my ass?"

"So you're saying you're totally oblivious to everything; you're just a victim here?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Jaina let out a slow breath. She wasn't like her father completely. For example, she couldn't go through her life not trusting anybody. At this moment, Shane-O-Mac was the person it seemed she had to put a little faith in. "Okay." She sat back, crossing her legs and arms. "What did you have in mind?"

_**WWF**_

"Well, ladies and gentlemen we now have a tag team match. It is the two young men who are making their way down to the ring right now, Matt and Jeff Hardy and King, earlier tonight they demanded a rematch with Edge and Christian after their match last night ended with interference from the Ministry allowing Edge and Christian to retain their tag team titles."

"And J.R. you gotta know that the only reason those two vampires agreed to the match is because they have more Ministry members just waiting in the wings to help them out if things start going down hill." Both Jerry and J.R. watched the Hardy Boys amp up the crowd, climbing the turnbuckles and throwing their arms in the air, calming down slightly once the lights went out and Edge and Christians music went up, both men taking their time walking down the ramp, not wanting any part of the rematch that Vince McMahon had authorized the Hardy's.

The Hardy's got the match off to a ferocious start, Matt taking Christian down to the mat within the first ten seconds of the competition starting. When the latter was pinned and managed to kick out, he crawled backwards, trying to get his bearings, wanting no part of Matt Hardy who was begging him to bring it on. However, he heard his brother telling him to get back into the game, which he did, somewhat reluctantly. The tables turned though, when Matt tried to bounce Christian off the ropes and straight into a clothes line. Christian was able to dodge, and instead, send a high knee into the face of Matt Hardy.

Quickly, Christian made the tag in to Edge, and the other brother was more than happy to hop into the ring and continue the assault on Matt, who was very quickly getting worn down from the abuse being wrought on his body.

_**WWF**_

Jaina stood up from the couch, still watching the match, her fingers tapping on her hips.

"What are you doing?" Shane looked up at her, confusion written on his face. Jaina just smiled. "I'm gonna go to work now." She left the room, leaving Shane to look after her in wonder. But all he could really do was shrug his shoulders and continue to watch the match.

_**WWF**_

Jeff Hardy was in trouble. After being double teamed in Edge and Christians corner by the blond brothers, Matt had tried to get into the ring to help, but the ref, turning his back on the dynamic duo, had gotten Matt back into his own corner outside of the ring. Unfortunately, Edge and Christian used that to their advantage and had seriously injured Jeff Hardy. By now, Matt was practically trying to jump over the top rope, slide through the bottom, do anything to help his brother. The referee had gone back to the match, leaving Matt Hardy severely angry and itching to dole out some punishment to the Ministry brothers.

Christian was now in the ring, landing a series of vicious kicks to Jeff's ribs, and all the Hardy brother could do was cry out in pain, feeling one of them crack under the pressure as Christian continued his assault while Edge was taunting Matt to jump into the ring, which he did. But just like last time, the referee turned his attention away from the match and instead to the eager Hardy brother trying to get in on the action in the ring. With the referee's back turned, Edge took the opportunity to hop in the ring and hold Jeff down while Christian performed three consecutive elbow drops to his middle.

Neither of them saw the blond girl running down the ramp, a steel chair in hand, until it was too late. Sliding into the ring, Edge, who was facing the ramp, was up first, but he was met with the business end of the chair, and when Christian rose to attack, he was also flattened in the head and knocked on his back by the force of the hit from Jaina. The girl knew she didn't look like much, but she could pack a punch, or in this case, a chair, when she wanted to. Quickly, she tossed the chair out of the ring, looking up to make sure that Matt still had the referee's attention, then dragged Jeff, which took a lot more effort than swinging a chair, far enough for him to cover Christian, who was out like a light on the mat.

Afterwards, she quickly slipped out of the ring and walked backwards on the ramp, watching as Matt finally backed off the referee and allowed him to count the one, two, three. Jaina threw her arms up in the air. Not only had she helped Matt and Jeff win the match, but she'd ended Edge and Christians tag team title reign, Smirking in self satisfaction, she marched back to her room, watching carefully for any signs of outrage from the Ministry that might befall her. However, she got back to the room quickly and safely and after closing the door, turned and smiled at Shane, who was looking at her with an impressed expression on his face.

"Not bad," he commented, "and if the Ministry wasn't pissed with you before, they sure as hell will be now."

Jaina sat down next to him, crossing her legs and propping her head up with arm against the back of the couch. "Oh pashaw...they need a dose of their own medicine. I told them I refuse to show any fear to them. I won't let them make me live my life in fear like they did Stephanie. I simply won't do it."

"Well," Shane got up, "just humor me and lock the door."

"Where are you going?"

"You didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun, did you? I told you I wanted in on the action; I've got my own plans."

Jaina bit her lip, smiling. "And they are?"

Just before Shane closed the door, he turned back to her and grinned. "Just keep watching the television." Jaina watched him leave, keeping her seat. She had to admit; she was curious as to what the boy king was planning.

_**WWF**_

Edge slammed the door open, stalking into the candle lit room where the other Ministry members were waiting. Christian followed close behind, equally as pissed off as his brother. They'd just lost a match, not because of the two men they were fighting, but because of the woman that had interfered. It was embarrassing, and not a little frustrating. Both men dropped to their knees in front of a surprisingly passive Undertaker, who looked neither displeased nor infuriated as they thought he would be.

"Please...please let Christian and I find her and teach her a lesson," Edge pleaded, shaking with anger, "that little wench cost us our titles and embarrassed us in front of 20,000 people! We deserve our revenge on her!"

"You will have a chance to conquer her, but not now," The Undertaker replied, leaning back in his chair, "for the moment, I'll allow her to have her fun. You will get your titles back, Edge, mark my words."

The response was not what Edge or Christian was hoping for, but they knew better than to go against their masters words. Grunting a reluctant affirmative, they stood and stepped back from The Undertaker, who leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Oh, if he only knew what Jaina and Shane had planned for his faction.

_**WWF**_

No Chance in Hell. That was certainly what Shane McMahon was thinking as he headed out to the ring, looking sharp in a tan sports jacket and expensive jeans. J.R. awaited him in the ring, nodding his head in respect as Shane hopped into the squared circle and shook the man's hand. An interview was on tap for him, and he fully expected an ambush of some kind, which was fine. Shane was ready should anything happen. For now though, he folded his hands in front of him and waited for J.R. to begin the questioning.

"First of all, Shane...you were viciously assaulted last night, you along with Jaina Austin and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who is going to be out for the week after sustaining some pretty serious injuries from The Undertaker and the Ministry of Darkness. After last night, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright, J.R., um...a little sore in some spots, I got my head split open last night and that had to have some medical attention, but no stitches or anything." Shane smiled triumphantly. He may have gotten the shit beat out of him, but aside from the small band-aid that sat atop his forehead, he showed no physical scars of the previous nights assault. "J.R., you should know that it takes more than a few thugs to keep a McMahon down. And I want to let the Ministry know that they've made a very serious mistake in targeting me. Their first mistake was trying to kidnap my kid sister and turn her into some demon freak, but now, they're going after me, and...you know, J.R., my sister is a classy young lady, she's not one to go looking for trouble, but me? Let me just tell you that The Undertaker and his gang of punks picked the wrong McMahon to mess with." He flashed a smile at the audience, and there was the distinct sound of feminine swooning in the arena.

"Shane," J.R. adjusted his hat, "let me ask you about why you were in the room you were in to begin with. Um, you know that Jaina Austin is Stone Colds daughter, and your families do not have the best history..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...now, I know that Austin and my dad are not best friends, J.R., but that rivalry doesn't extend to their children. Jaina's father, as you all know, told her to stay in the back and watch the match, and she asked me if I wanted to watch Over the Edge with her. I wasn't busy, so I said yes." He shrugged the question off, as though it weren't important, but he knew that even though the rest of his family wouldn't be on RAW, they would be on the premiere of Smackdown! and Vince was probably not going to enjoy the fact that his son and his most hated enemies daughter were hanging out together.

"And not to keep going with the same line of questioning, Shane, but...I'm sure you've heard the rumors going around the locker room ever since last Monday night on RAW, when The Undertaker mentioned that...well, that he'd been spying on you and Miss. Austin, and things did look a bit _cozy_ with you two out in the parking lot. So, I guess the question that is on everyones mind is: are you and Jaina an item or a potential item?"

Shane stepped back from J.R. not able to hide the grin that was spreading across his face, and as he was on the titantron at the moment, the entire crowd saw the expression and began their cat calls. The image went from Shane, to Jaina (a camera crew had made their way back into her room), who was shown sitting on the small couch, an eyebrow raised and a smirk gracing her narrow face. Shane happened to glance up at the titantron, and the only help he received from the lady in question was a wider smirk and a cheeky finger wave.

"We are not an item," Shane finally said, rolling his eyes at Jaina, who giggled in return. Her image went off the titantron, replaced by Shane, who simply smiled at J.R. The announcer wasn't getting anymore information than that.

"Earlier tonight, we saw Jaina run out here and interfere in the Hardy Boys match against Edge and Christian. I assume that was payback for what happened last night. Does that mean you have something up your sleeve for the Ministry as well?"

Shane laughed out loud. "J.R. if I did, I certainly wouldn't tell you. Where would the surprise be in that?"

"Well, if you don't want to tell good ole J.R., why don't you tell us?"

Shane turned to the ramp, watching as the Acolytes strolled down the ramp. "You know, you and your little girlfriend obviously didn't learn your lesson last night. So how about we come up there, and give you a review?" Bradshaw and Farooq climbed the stairs and hopped into the ring, and it was at that moment that J.R. wisely stepped between the ropes and hopped back down to the announcers table, not wanting any part of what was about to go down. Shane, for his part, stayed where he was, looking for all the world like an innocent bystander. He shrugged, spreading his arms wide, inviting them to do their worst. But they were so focused on Shane that they didn't notice a pair of wrestlers slip into the ring with them, a pair of wrestlers who were proudly sporting the new gold they'd just won. Shane stepped out of the way just in time as the Hardy Boys pounced on the Acolytes, McMahon applauding them as they threw Farooq out of the ring, making him land hard on a thin mat that covered even harder cement. He slipped out of the ring as Jeff Hardy went up top, and, with the help of his brother holding Bradshaw down to the mat, delivered one of his infamous aerial assaults.

McMahon walked backwards up the ramp, shrugging as though he'd had no idea what was going to happen, letting the Hardy Boys have their moment of glory.

It was amazing what one could do when you offered them an opportunity at pay back. The Ministry had pissed off a lot of people. Now they were finding out that Jaina and Shane weren't the only ones.

_**WWF**_

"Okay, alright," Jaina gave Shane his dues as he bowed, walking into the room that they were now sharing for, what looked like, the rest of the night. "That was good, I enjoyed myself thoroughly."

"Four down, four to go." Shane leaned against the door, putting his hands in his pockets. He glanced at the television, noticing that the Hardy's were still celebrating their coup de grat on the Acolytes. "You know, I think they deserved that more than we did almost. Edge and Christian have been grating on their nerves for a long time now."

"Hey, as long as they're kicking The Ministry's ass, I don't have a problem. Let them have their fun...boyfriend," Jaina smirked, watching Shane's eye brows slowly raise above his head. "Just kidding."

"Oh, were you really?" Shane snapped as though he were heart broken. "Damn, and I was going to ask you to dinner later." The atmosphere had been light up until that point, but they'd both gotten a little to close to a subject that neither of them wanted to touch. Slightly uncomfortable by the comments they'd both made, Shane and Jaina stayed where they were, continuing to watch the action in the ring, but every so often, stealing glances at one another.

"So!" Jaina looked at him, breaking the silence effectively. "Back to _business_."

"Yes," she watched Shane sidle a way from the door slowly and come to a stop just beside her, "want to invoke part three now?" His answer was a smirk.

"More than ever."

_**WWF**_

Jaina sauntered down the hallway like a cat, her moves confident, her face the complete expression of a woman going to get what she wanted.

She came to a stop in front of a locker room door and glanced up at the name on it.

De-Generation X.

Grinning ferally, she raised her fist and tapped on the door daintily, listening to the shuffling behind the door until a man with long, dirty blonde hair and a rough Texan accent greeted her.

"Helloooooo," Shawn Michaels leaned against the door frame, gazing appreciatively at Jaina. "What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"

Jaina pressed forward slightly, running a delicate finger from the mans stomach to his chest. "I was wondering if you could help me with a project." She batted her eye lashes at him, smiling sweetly. "You see, there's something that I need, something that I know you can help me get, and if you help me, I will make it very worth your while."

The look on Shawn's face was priceless. It was as if he'd been handed God's food on a silver platter. "What ever I can help you with, I'll be more than happy to." He stepped back from the door. "Boys, we've got company!" As Jaina stepped over the thresh hold and the door closed, hoots and cheers filled the locker room as the door closed.

_**WWF**_

"Well, that was certainly interesting, King." JR was bewildered at what had just transpired. "Yea, I wonder how Austin would feel about his daughter throwing herself at Shawn Michaels, a degenerate!" Jerry was flapping his mouth around as usual, but JR let him do so. It wasn't going to be his tail that got busted when Austin came back to RAW next week.

**WWF**

Austin cracked open another beer, guzzling it down as the door to the DX locker room closed. No wonder she hadn't told him what she was planning. He would've killed her! And the writers. And Vince for signing off on it!

_**WWF**_

When Jaina walked into her room again, it was with a huge smile on her face and a beckoning finger to Shane. "Come with me," was all she said. She didn't miss the slightly disapproving look on McMahon's features, but she didn't care right now. This was business, not pleasure, and as long as they both took it to the Ministry, she didn't really give a damn how he thought she did things. She was getting the job done, that was all that mattered.

"You have fun with Michaels?" He asked her as they walked down the hall.

"I did, as a matter of fact, and I also got what we needed," she stopped in front of a door and pushed it open, smiling in triumph as she ushered Shane in, "I think this will be perfect for those three."

Shane had apparently forgotten his annoyance at Jaina's actions and instead was feeling very good about their next prank session. "Oh yea, this is great," he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, feeling very confident about their third step, "where did you get all these?"

Jaina smiled. "From Shawn. He and the rest of DX have all the great connections, so it was no problem to get one of their friends down here in a hurry. They were happy to do it, actually, and they didn't want anything in return." She glared pointedly at Shane, as if to say, 'no, I didn't do what you thought I did'. He only nodded in reply and looked around once more. "Let's get to work," he said, before following her out of the room and shutting the door.

_**WWF**_

Edge and Christian now had some support in their anger and need to take Jaina and Shane down. The Acolytes were still in a rage over their ambush and were demanding retribution. Unfortunately, The Undertaker, while he was sympathetic to their situation, was not willing to let his angry minion's loose on the arena without a plan in mind.

"These are two children who are in over their heads; don't give into them!" The Undertaker stood in the middle of a circle made by his Ministry. "I promise you, there will be retribution, but on _our_ terms, not on theirs! Allow them to play their games for now. Let them believe they're smarter than us, for the pain and suffering that we will inflict on them in the near future will be ten times greater than any title loss or ambush they can come up with." His black eyes pierced that of Edge, Christian, Bradshaw, and Farooq, and it was enough to silence them. But The Undertaker knew he was losing control very quickly. If he didn't do something soon, those two brats would completely unravel his Ministry.

"At the premiere, we will regain our footing in the WWF," he nodded his head slowly, showing them that he was confident, "When I defeated Austin last night, it was the completion of the first step. Our Master will reveal his identity in three days time, and when he does, we will have complete control over everything and everyone here. It will be _our_ time, and we will rule in glorious darkness."

Murmurs of agreement and solidarity filled the room. The promise of events changing for their favor in three days was enough to satisfy their tempers for now. But only for now.

_**WWF**_

She knew that The Undertaker had a fondness for staying in the deepest, darkest corners of any of the arena's they ever visited, so Jaina hung out in front of the main entrance to the basement and furnace section of the American Airlines Arena. For now, all she had to do was wait until someone from the Ministry came up to do whatever business it was they needed to do, and she was fairly positive that The Acolytes, Edge, and Christian were going to be staying in doors for the rest of the night after the humiliation they suffered. That left Viscera, Mideon, and Gangrel.

She'd been standing there for almost 15 minutes when she heard voices wafting up from the stairs below. Poking her head down, she saw the three Ministry members that she wanted and grinned. Hopefully, this would all go well, and she and Shane would only have The Undertaker to deal with. She stepped back from the stairs a little ways and waited for their heads to pop before she started walking back towards them, making them think that she was just passing through. But when they spotted her, she stopped in her tracks, a look of fear on her face and turned tail, running back the way she came.

Jaina heard them chasing after her, yelling threats at her if she didn't stop, but she kept going. It was good that they were all heavier than she was; if they'd been in better shape, it was possible that they could catch up to her, and then where would she be.

She made her way back into the backstage area and darted past crew members and other employees that looked strangely at her, then got out of the way when they saw whom she was running from.

Jaina rounded the corner and looked up ahead. There was the room, the door wide open and she quickly scuttled behind it. Shane, who'd been hiding behind the door, pulled her in closer towards the wall and they waited until they heard the heavy foot steps and angry yelling that was Viscera, Mideon and Gangrel, dead set on catching their pray.

"In here," they heard Gangrel hiss, and all three of them entered the room.

Which Shane promptly shut the door to, locking it. He and Jaina stepped back, hearing the three Ministry members pounding on the door, demanding to be let out, but he only shook his head while Jaina laughed uproariously. "We figured you guys have been stuck in the dark for too long, so how about we light up your lives, huh?"

Fishing around in his pockets, he took out a book of matches and knelt to the ground, striking the match and putting it to what looked like a piece of string. Only it was the fuse to a big surprise inside. He and Jaina watched as the lit fuse ran down the string and underneath the door, and waited with baited breath until the sounds of an awful lot of fireworks and color rockets began to sound from behind the door.

"You light up my life!" Jaina sang as she sank against the wall, wiping a tear from her eyes, listening to the outraged sounds of the three men in the room. "When they get out of there, they're going to be every color of rainbow!"

"I hear there's a gay pride parade in Atlanta," Shane smiled, mentioning the next city that they'd be performing in, but Jaina shook her head, "no, I think the gay community doesn't want them." She shrugged, still listening to the shrieking and screaming inside the room. "Come on, we don't want to be here when the Ministry comes to get them out."

_**WWF**_

"Taker, we have to do something about them," Bearer was nervously wringing his hands together, speaking privately with his Master, which was never a small thing. Viscera, Mideon, and Gangrel had not yet returned and they'd been gone almost 20 minutes.

"We _will_, Paul, but when we're ready. I will not allow my Ministry to be so distracted that it can't defend itself. They are children. When we're ready to discipline them, they will be, severely, until that time...I don't want to hear another word about it. From anyone." He glared dangerously at Bearer and that was good enough for the fat one.

Paul was about to leave the smaller room when he and The Undertaker heard a ruckus from the meeting room where they'd all been earlier. Entering, they found their wayward ministry members, stained in every color that could possibly be in existence, and their clothes singed and burned. "What happened to you three?" Paul asked immediately, marching up to them, demanding an explanation. When he heard it, he turned to The Undertaker, his hands on his hips, pointing at the three.

"Are we going to let this stand? When is it going to be your turn, huh, Taker?" Paul watched as the man glided out of the room and down the hall, heading towards the stairs that would take him up into the main levels of the arena. Perhaps a warning of what would come in the future would be in order. At the very least, it would make the Ministry feel a little more in control of the situation.

_**WWF**_

"You were jealous."

Jaina fixed Shane with a challenging glare. "C'mon, Shane, you thought that I'd 'performed' some 'favors' for those fireworks that Michaels gave me."

"Well with the way you went about getting into their locker room, who wouldn't?" Shane bit back. "Besides, this is business. Why would it matter what I thought anyway?"

"It doesn't matter what you think!" Jaina huffed, crossing her arms. She sighed as she turned away from him, glancing at the television. She stiffened slightly. "Shane," her voice was quiet, and her eyes didn't move from the box. She heard him turn around and walk to stand just behind her. "I guess we pissed him off."

"Yea, he doesn't look to happy. Guess we did our job, huh?" Her arms tightened around her middle as she listened to the dark lord speak, not noticing that her body had leaned itself back against Shanes as they listened.

_**WWF**_

"Two of my most loyal disciples have lost their belts, my Acolytes were ambushed by cowards, and three more were victims of a childish prank." The Undertaker stood in the middle of the ring, alone, mic in hand, holding the audience, and the rest of the WWF captive by his words. "Shane McMahon, Jaina Austin...enjoy yourselves tonight. Come Thursday night, your lives, as you know them, will belong to me. One of you will serve the ministry, and one of you..." he grinned manically, "one of you, will serve _me_". He waited for the crowd to calm before he continued. "Both of your souls will belong to myself and The Higher Power, and we will bend them and use them however we wish, you will adhere to every word we say, and whether you like it or not...you will serve us, however we deem _fit_!"

_**WWF**_

"I've had about enough of this," Shane muttered throwing open the door and making his way towards the gorilla, Jaina hot on his heels. The Undertakers words had permeated her brain, and as much fun as she'd had tonight, she realized that this was the only night that she'd ever be able to do this. The Ministry would be ready for anything that was thrown at them now, she'd have to think of other ways to fight; pranks weren't going to cut it anymore.

She could still hear The Undertaker talking, now directing some of his words toward her father, and that fired her up even more as she followed Shane up the stairs and onto the entrance pallet that would lead them out in front of the world. They stepped through the curtain and were instantly met with excited cheers and screams from the audience.

"Undertaker, hey, Taker, up here!" Shane had the mic and he was pacing the top of the entrance walk stealthily, "You know, normally, I take you seriously when you come out here and say anything, but I gotta tell ya, with your prodigal tag team losing their belts tonight, another two of your Ministry members allowing themselves to get the crap beat out of them, and three more deciding that they wanted finger paint or do something artistic tonight, it's really hard to not look at you and laugh my head off, ya know what I'm saying?" He looked at Jaina, who nodded her agreement, laughing visibly and giving him a round of applause.

"Shane...you are playing with fire, boy, and when you play with fire, especially my kind of fire, you get burned." The Undertaker pointed a long, glove covered finger at the duo. "Children, this is no game. I will take you, both of you, you will serve the Ministry of Darkness, and you will start this Thursday night, or you will, mark my words, discover what true pain, sorrow, and suffering is!"

Jaina rolled her eyes, taking the mic from Shane. "Taker, the only thing I have to do to know what true pain, sorrow, and suffering is, is to come out here and look at your mangled, disgusting face!" She let the crowd have their fun with agreeing with her, than continued on. "I will not, nor will I ever, _ever _serve you or your Ministry willingly. I would rather burn in _Hell_ than hand my soul over to you, and I don't think you have any idea what it would take for me to go so far as to give you complete control over my life, and the reason I know that is because I don't know what it would take either. So, Undertaker, you keep dreaming your dreams, because that is all they are: _dreams_."

She handed the mic back to Shane, glaring at The Undertaker, seething in anger. She hadn't realized until she was done speaking how truly furious she was, but The Undertaker wasn't done yet as he merely looked at Jaina calmly.

"I have been dreaming, _Jaina_. Would you like to know what I've been dreaming about?" The Undertaker grinned wider, seeing that he now had not only Jaina's rapt attention, but also Shane's protective gaze being leveled at him. "Stephanie was a fine selection for my Ministry. She was so pure, so innocent, and Shane...I hadn't seen a beauty like her in _years_." He laughed evily into the mic as Jaina hopped in front of the irate young man, barring him from the ring. "It would have been my dark pleasure to twist and bend her to my will, and I can imagine that I would have been able to _twist_ and _bend_ her in any way I wished!"

"Shane!" Jaina took to putting both her hands on his chest and pushing back against him, doing her best to keep Shane under control and out of the ring where he would almost certainly get beaten within an inch of his life. At the same time, she also tried to keep her ears on the conversation at hand, not that she was really looking forward to hearing anything more from The Undertaker.

"But then, Jaina, when your father decided to meddle in my business, and save Stephanie, I knew I had a new target. You appeared," he stepped to the front of the ropes, leaning over just slightly, "and I knew that it was the Higher Power who had stepped in. Stephanie was saved for a reason. She wasn't meant to be my queen; you were."

Jaina grimaced slightly, glad that Shane had ceased trying to get down to the ring, but slightly sickened at the fact that she had to listen to this. Satisfied that, for the moment, McMahon was fine where he was, Jaina put her back to him and concentrated on the other man that was beginning to make her insides tighten up.

"Don't worry, Jaina...I can make you forget everything. I can make you forget your father...I can even make you forget the man behind you...you two seem to have become so close over the past few weeks. You have a spirit that is rare, Jaina Austin...and it will be my sincere pleasure to _break it."_

"So, Jaina..." The Undertaker continued, receiving more and more dark pleasure from the look on the young woman's face as he sealed her future with his mouth, "enjoy the last few days of your freedom. If you and the McMahon boy are an item, I would suggest you consummate your relationship, because come Thursday night, it will be the beginning of your new life...with me."

"Over my dead body!" Jaina screamed into the mic that Shane was still holding with one hand, and with the other, trying to push Jaina behind him. "Over your dead body...I'd prefer you breathing, but if that's what it will take to break you..." The Undertaker left the sentence unfinished as his music came on, signaling that was the end of the conversation. And The Undertaker wasn't the only one who noticed Shane's arms wrapped protectively around Jaina's waist.

"Oh, JR I think Austin's gonna have a lot to say when he get's back to RAW next week," the King remarked as he continued to watch his monitor, looking closely at the two young people still standing atop the ramp, glaring at The Undertaker defiantly.

"King, they haven't said that they are together, that they are a couple, and even if they are, good for them, it's no one else's business!"

That was how RAW ended, the picture of a man trying to protect a woman against an evil entity that they were both united against, but were supposed to be fighting separately.

**WWF**

Jaina and Shane received a joyous round of applause as they walked, hand in hand, into the lounge area of the Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel & Marina. They weren't expecting the large or raucous welcome, but the Ministry members had been truly impressed. Even the three walking canvass's still hadn't completely cleaned up from the paint that covered their bodies, but they were grinning and laughing along with everyone else.

"May I say, a truly spectacular night of pranks, worthy of DX praise!" Paul clapped Shane on the back and gripped his shoulders. "Awesome job guys!" Jaina shook her head and pulled away from Shane, walking over to Mark who was nodding his head in approval. "You do know that's probably the only time you're going to get to do that to the Ministry, right?"

"Yea," Jaina shrugged, "that's the only sad part I see really. But I take it you all 'enjoyed' yourselves?"

"Thoroughly," Mark nodded his head, "Adam and Jason are itching to get the titles back, but at least they'll have a happy memory of how they lost them."

"That is if they _can_ remember anything," she retorted, "I hope I didn't hit them to hard with the chair." Mark snorted, nodding his head towards the two young men who were sitting with Matt and Jeff Hardy. "I promise you, ya barely dented their skin. Anyways, it's not so much the pain as the shock of getting it with the chair when it comes out of no where. Just remember," Mark grinned evilly, "this Thursday night, you get to have the favor returned."

"Oh goody...can't wait for that," Jaina gave Mark a hug, then walked back over to where Shane was sitting with Shawn Michaels and Paul Levesque, talking about something, but quieting down once Jaina walked over. "Oh, is this a boys only group?" She teasingly raised her eyebrows at all three men, who were trying to decide through facial expressions and eye movements whether or not they should let her in on what they were discussing.

"Nope, we allow a few girls in from time to time," Shane pulled her down to his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist, "we were just discussing a few storylines that'll probably start up soon here."

"Yea, besides, I'm hittin' the sack," Paul got up and Shawn followed, "Shane, see ya Thursday?"

"Yea." McMahon shook hands with Michael's and Levesque and watched them walk away. He heard a small voice in his ear and looked back at Jaina's curious face. "I'm sorry, what?"

"What storylines?" she asked again.

Shane kissed her temple. "Confidential," was all he said, a look of apology on his face. Jaina arched an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she bit her lip and grinned, sliding off Shane's lap. "Alright guys, good night! See you all Thursday!" She sauntered out of the lounge, one hand on her hip, leaving Shane wondering what had happened. She didn't seem angry...she didn't seem overly thrilled either.

This must have been one of those things his father would tell him about in the realm of dating women. 'Never pretend to even be able to conceive of what goes on in a woman's mind. The only thing you'll get out of it is a headache.'

**WWF**

The door to their room was open when Shane got off the elevator and walked the hallway to the suite. He stepped across the thresh hold and closed the door softly, looking around. The small living room was devoid of any human activity, so he crossed the floor and walked into the bed room. Seeing the light on in the bathroom, he poked his head in the door and found Jaina dressing for bed, wearing a pair of boxers and a sports bra. He watched her silently for a moment or two.

"You want to elaborate on what happened downstairs?" he asked, watching as she brushed her blond hair. She frowned at him, a confused expression gracing her features. "Why, what happened?"

"You asked what we were talking about, I said it was confidential, and you left me sitting down there alone...." Shane rolled his hands over the other as though he were telling a story, stepping into the bathroom slightly. Jaina glanced at him again, not understanding what he was trying to say. Then, it dawned on her. "You think I'm mad at you?" A slow smile began to spread over her face. "Shane, I'm not mad at you," she giggled, "it's cute that you think that though."

"You're not mad at me?" he repeated, not understanding what was going on, "then why did you walk away without saying anything?"

"It got you up here quicker than having to say goodnight to everyone personally, didn't it?" She flipped her hair back and stepped up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry, Shane. I wasn't mad at you. I just wanted you up here, in our room, so I could do this." She slipped her mouth over his softly, giving him an innocent, but promising kiss, which he returned after realizing that they weren't about to have their first fight after all. His hands found her hips and pulled her closer to his body, his fingers gripped her tightly, holding her in place. For the stunt she'd just pulled downstairs, he was going to have a lot of fun torturing her.

He suddenly pulled away, walking out of the bathroom, his hands in his pockets. "Shane?" Jaina followed him out, wondering why he'd stopped such a wonderful thing. "What are you doing?" She watched him sit on the bed and take off his shoes.

"I'm getting ready to go to bed," he answered matter of factly, "pulling off revenge plots on the Ministry is tiring work you know." He stood up, beginning to unbutton his shirt and slid it off his broad shoulders, turning to throw it on the bed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jaina was none to happy with his decision to stop her attempt at affection for him. But Shane was a McMahon, and if there was one thing that any McMahon believed, whether it was in or out of the ring, it was that turn about was fair play.

"You're serious?" she finally asked, putting her hands on her hips and cocking a knee out to show her displeasure. "Yep," Shane pulled his under shirt off and tossed it into a corner. "We both have to fly out tomorrow," he pulled off his pants leaving only his boxers on, "we might as well get a good night's sleep, you know?" He turned away once again to kick his pants over into the same corner his undershirt was in and grinned internally, hearing Jaina click her tongue against her cheek. "Okay then," she said shortly, walking toward the living room to turn the light out. But quick as lightening, Shane was there to meet her, and in a half hearted clothesline, he tackled her onto the bed, covering her body completely and pushing his mouth against hers.

Jaina was stunned at first, and she wasn't prepared, but she got with the program quickly after that, her fingers threading through Shane's hair as he continued his assault on her mouth with his own, gently nipping, biting, caressing her lips, wanting to show her physically how much he cared for her rather than just telling her. It had been almost a month that they'd been dating...was he takings to fast, should he have moved things along quicker?

He realized that he'd stopped moving when Jaina's hands framed his face. "Shane," she breathed lightly, "are you okay?"

"Yea," he blinked, looking down and locking his eyes with hers, "yea, I'm fine...I'm sorry. I just..." he chuckled nervously, earning a smile from his girlfriend. "You just what?" she encouraged.

"I didn't know if...you wanted....this..." he shook his head, highly embarrassed now. He should have just kept his mouth shut...or occupied, as it were, and gone with it until she'd told him to stop or slow down. Now, he'd put them both in an awkward position, the throbbing beneath his boxers not withstanding. He moved to roll off of her, but felt her hands press down on his shoulders, keeping him in place. So slowly that it almost seemed a lifetime before her hands were back on his face, Shane watched as she leaned up and continued where they left off, though this time much more softly, even shyly. When she pulled away, she rested her head on the pillow, her fingers still stroking Shane's cheek.

That was all the invitation he needed.

**WWF**

"Mmmm...no...." Jaina, her eyes still closed, felt around on the night stand for the offending sound. Finally, her hand landed on her cell phone, grasping it tightly. She fiddled around with the buttons for a moment, but when that didn't get her anywhere, she chucked it at the wall, hearing a satisfying smack as it hit, then fell to the floor. She rolled over in the bed and threw a pillow over her head.

Only to have it be taken off. She frowned and opened one eye, slightly covered with her blond hair, and saw Shane lying beside her, looking at her slightly amused. "Hello," he greeted her softly, brushing her hair back from her eyes as she shifted closer to him, smiling, remembering when they'd finally fallen asleep. Amazingly, that was only about three hours ago. But it was now 7:00 in the morning, and she wasn't tired at all. Actually, she was refreshed, and felt like she'd slept for 12 hours. "Good morning," she mumbled, tucking her head underneath his chin, then let out a whine. Shane snorted. "What was that?"

"This isn't fair...it's not fair that it's morning, and it's not fair that we have to take separate planes to go to separate homes until Thursday." She wrapped her arms around Shane's bare waist. "Why don't we just stay here until Thursday morning and then fly into Atlanta. We can be there by noon at the latest." She heard and felt Shane laughing as he kissed the top of her head and rolled on top of her, threading his fingers through her blond locks. "It's not that I don't see the sense in that, but unfortunately, I have to go back to the office for the last of the endorsement deals, make sure all the contracts are signed, call the Philips Arena for a conference call...." he shook his head sadly, "but I'll tell you...my sister had quite the idea last week...at least, I think it was last week."

"Yea, what was that?"

"She said that maybe you could spend a week with me every month or so...you know, so that we actually see each other during the days we don't have shows, or promo cuts, or autograph signings, or any of that other garbage...that and we would have a lot more time just to ourselves," he pushed against her gently, accenting his point, and received a surprise gasp in return. "I could live with that," she answered, then looked over at the clock. "You don't have to be at the airport for another two hours. My flight leaves after yours," she cleared her throat, "and, we're good to not check out for another hour and a half."

"What did you have in mind?"

Jaina flipped Shane over in the bed and settled herself over his middle, answering his question quite succinctly.

**WWF**

After departing Miami with a final goodbye kiss, Jaina was on her way home, eager to see her father, and even more eager to see his reaction to the previous nights show.

After disembarking from the plane, Jaina made her way to the baggage claim and grinned when she saw a familiar bald head standing by one of the columns at the San Antonio International Airport. "Hey Daddy!"

"Hello baby girl," Austin hugged his daughter, greeting her with a kiss on her forehead, "good flight?" Jaina nodded. "Yep. Good drive?"

"Jaina, it's 20 minutes from here to the house."

"Yea, but anything can happen in 20 minutes," Jaina argued, watching the baggage wheel for her suitcase. When she spotted it, she grabbed it off the wheel and rolled it over. "Okay, let's go!"

"You hungry, you wanna eat something before we go home?" Austin asked as they made their way out to the parking lot. "Nah, I can get something when we get back to the house," Jaina answered, "I don't even know why I bothered coming home; it's not like we don't leave for Atlanta tomorrow night anyways."

"Hey is one day with your dear old dad to much to ask?" Austin feigned being hurt as he and his daughter got in the truck. "Daddy, you know that's not what I meant."

"Yea, yea....you're 23 now, ya got another man in your life...no, no, it's okay, I'll be alright. I'll just cart myself off to the nursin' home, don't you worry nothin' about it, hun."

"Oh, Daddy, don't be silly," Jaina admonished as they pulled out of the airport lot and onto the road to the highway, "it'll be years before I have to cart you off to a home."

"That's nice, thanks, Jay," Austin laughed, heading for the on ramp to the highway that would take them home. "Oh, and by the way, nice job last night. I'm proud of ya, kid."

"You liked it?"

"Well, aside from the fact that I had about...30 beers in the house that needed to be drank and I was gonna enjoy it no matter what happened..."

"Dad." Jaina rolled her eyes. "Did ya like it or not?"

"I just told you I did," Austin looked at her, "I mean, not all of it, but ya know, I'll get over it." He tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel as he drove, ignoring the look Jaina was giving him. "Not all of it?" she repeated, not really needing to think about which part her father was talking about, "Dad, that was just a way for me to get into the locker room."

"I know, that's why I'm not saying anything about it. Jaina, you're 23 years old, you wanted in this business, I'm not gonna tell you how you and Vince should have your character portrayed. But you need to be aware of the fact that some people might think you actually do that kinda thing and...well, don't be surprised if you turn heel to hear a couple names directed your way."

"Dad, really, I'm not worried about it. And unless the storyline is incredible, I don't plan on turning heel anytime soon. I've got to get through the next six months at least." She leaned back in the seat and looked out the window as her father drove onto the exit ramp.

"Hey Dad, I'm hungry." She grinned as Steve gave her a rather annoyed look. "You just said 15 minutes ago you weren't."

"No, 15 minutes ago I said I'd get something at the house, but then I remembered that there's a Lonestar Steak House up the road, and I started thinking about a steak and a baked potato and..."

"Alright, alright, alright," Austin got into the left hand lane and made the turn when the light turned green, gunning the engine into the parking lot and then parking the truck. He got out of the truck and waited for his daughter, then they both walked to the saloon.

"Let's eat."

**WWF**

"Okay..." Shane leaned back from his desk to stand up and stretch in his office. He was back at WWF headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, reviewing contracts, cards for the shows, booking information for Atlanta, and in ten minutes he was scheduled to be on a conference call with the managers of the Philips Arena. It was all in a days work for a McMahon, and Shane was glad that his sister would be coming on soon to help out with the day to day proceedings in the company.

He groaned as his phone beeped twice rapidly and pushed the button. "What's up, Samantha?"

"Mr. McMahon, there's a woman here to see you." Shane frowned; his assistant sounded unsure...he knew it wasn't Jaina, he'd just spoken to her an hour ago on the phone. It wasn't his sister or his mother; they had clearance to just walk on in.

"What woman?" he finally asked.

"She says her name is Lauren McCabe."

Shane's stomach plummeted into his shoes. _Lauren McCabe? What is she doing here?_

"Mr. McMahon, should I send her in?" Samantha was waiting, and Shane could tell by the tone of her voice that she knew something was up. Her boss was not normally this quiet or indecisive.

"That's fine, Sam, I'll take it from here. Thanks," Shane punched the intercom off the phone and stepped out from behind the desk to stand in front of it, crossing his arms and staring at the door. True to form and like he remembered her, Lauren didn't bother knocking. Instead, she opened the door and peeked in.

"Hey."

"Hello."

The girl, a rather pretty young woman with long chestnut brown hair and brandy colored eyes stepped in, looking for all the world like she didn't have a care about anything. Shane arched an eyebrow at her attire. Normally, Lauren looked pretty spiffy in the past, but even he had to admit that she looked pretty damn good right now, if he did say so himself. She was dressed in a classy business skirt suit the color of chocolate brown, a light blue shirt just peeking out from underneath the brown blazer she wore. It accented her tan and her eyes perfectly. In a word, she looked good. Yes, she looked pretty damn good.

But not _that_ damn good.

"What can I do for you, Lauren?" he asked coldly, not moving from his position. He didn't have a whole lot to say to her at the moment. Why should he? She was the woman he'd bought a ring for...before he found out that she'd been seeing someone behind his back for the last three months of their relationship.

"Oh Shane, still holding a grudge after all this time?" Lauren tutted softly, shaking her head. "That's a shame, really, it is. I just came here to talk business, is all."

"Really?" Shane snorted. "I don't think you and I have any business to talk about."

"Well, that's where you're wrong," Lauren took it upon herself to gracefully sit down in one of the chairs, "we do have business to discuss. Actually, I think this will be the kind of business that you excel in." She smiled sarcastically up at him. "You may want to sit down for this one, Shane Baby."

"Don't call me that." Shane glared at her. "I don't have time for your little games, Lauren. In fact, I grew tired of them a few years ago. Just tell me what you want, and then leave. It's what you're best at." He pushed off the desk and sat back down behind it, folding his hands on the mahogany oak.

"I just wanted to let you know that I recently picked up a new job." She smirked at him, and Shane knew that smirk, he knew that look like the back of his hand. "Oh don't worry," she continued, "it's not here."

"Are you going to tell me where your new place of employment is or are you just going to waist my time with that stupid look on your face?" Shane was growing impatient. He had three minutes before he had to be on that conference call, and he did not want to be late.

"Shane, you're in the middle of a war right now, a Monday night war, and I just wanted to let you know, from me to you, face to face, that the other side just got a new General to lead them into battle."

Had Shane not grown up a McMahon, had he not had all the business classes, savvy, and emotional training, he knew that his face would have fallen right off. Had she just told him that she was hired into WCW?

"That's right, Shane Baby," she grinned, standing up and placing her hands on his desk, "you're looking at the new General Manager of Monday Night Nitro. And I'm here to tell ya; you're in for one hell of a fight with me at the helm." She giggled shortly, then turned to leave, opening the door. "I just thought that I'd tell you _this _information in person. I know how you hate to be...left in the dark, shall we say?" With that, she walked out of the office, leaving the door open.

Shane, for the next few moments, literally didn't know what to think. He didn't even notice Samantha walk in the room, a worried look on her face. "Mr. McMahon, is everything alright?"

When he didn't answer, she walked up to the desk and got within his sightline. "Shane!" She snapped her fingers a few times, getting his attention. He cleared his throat. "Yea, yea, I'm alright. I'm fine. Thanks. Hey, uh, Sam?"

She raised her eyebrows in response.

"Look, um...get me on that conference call with the Philips Arena, and then right after, I need you to call my father, my mother, The Senior V.P. of Marketing and the Senior V.P. of Creative, along with all their assistants. I need to have a meeting with them right after the conference call is through."

"But Mr. McMahon, you have the contract renewals to go over with the attorney's."

"Not anymore I don't," he shook his head, "call up my father's assistant, tell her that Lauren McCabe was just in here. She's heading up Nitro now. Tell her to give that note to Vince. Believe me when I tell you the schedule's going to really go off the rails today."

"More so than usual?"

Shane picked up the phone and nodded. "Oh hell yeah."


	6. Taker Takes

1Vince McMahon sat tight lipped next to his wife in Shane's office, Linda drumming her fingers on the arm rest, her face a mixture of shock and anger. "Shane, you're sure she's the new GM for WCW?"

"For Nitro and for Thunder, yea," Shane nodded, "I made a few calls and got some more information. Apparently when she left me, she went to work for Turner in his marketing department. She made a few high profile connections, bragged about the fact she dated me for so many years, and told them that she genuinely enjoyed wrestling. That made it's way up to Ted and he asked to meet with her...." he shrugged, fuming on the inside. His competition was now headed by the woman who'd left him high and dry, and he knew, he just knew, that the WWF was going to be in for it now. They were already in a ratings race with WCW. Shane knew how Lauren's mind worked...she was as devious and cut throat as they came.

Well, except for his father.

Turner obviously knew what he was doing. It also meant that with his instatement of Lauren as the WCW GM, he was ready to take his programming to a whole new level. No more 'Family Entertainment' insignia for Ted Turner. Lauren was going to get as racy as she possibly could.

"Okay, then, we've got to get on the ball here," Vince stood up and reached across Shane's desk for his phone and dialed a number, Shane looking at his mother, silently asking her who he could be calling. Linda had an idea, but she kept quiet for the moment.

"Stephanie..." Vince greeted his daughter on the other line, "Well, I'm not so great at the moment sweetheart. Look, I need you to come to the offices right away...personally, everything's fine, but WCW has a new GM that we need to get ready for. I want you to start meeting with the writers and the creative staff. I know I said that you would have the summer as a graduation present before we started you on but-" he paused for a minute, then a smile came to his face. "Alright, see you in a few minutes."

"Stephanie's on her way?" Linda asked as Vince hung up the phone. "Yep. I hate to do that to her, breaking a promise and all but-"

"She gets it, Dad," Shane assured his father, "she's on her way here, isn't she?"

"Vince, what do you want to do?" Linda asked. "She's very likely to take things to a whole new level that we may not be able to match up with."

"I don't want to hear that," Vince shook his head, "there's no level that she can rise to that the WWF can't meet or beat. I know exactly how we're going to beat her." He looked at Shane, and his son nodded grimly. He was the one who knew her best. "Shane, you're going to head up RAW until this bitch is dealt with."

"Vince..." Linda sent a disapproving glare her husbands way. She didn't like Lauren McCabe any more than anyone else in her family did, but she also didn't approve of her husband stooping to such lows either.

"What, you don't agree with that description?" Vince cocked an eyebrow, a little huffy, a little frustrated, and Linda conceded Of course she did; the hussy cheated on her son when he'd been planning on asking her to marry him.

"I've got the marketing and creative departments coming down in a few minutes, Dad."

"Good," Vince cleared his throat, "when Stephanie get's here, have her get with creative immediately. With you running the marketing aspect and Stephanie having her hands all over the writing, we can sink WCW. Nothing is off limits, do you understand? I don't care how sick, twisted, evil, or controversial you think the idea may be, if you see a moment, take it. If a wrestler wants to do something that could set the ratings off as well as the critics, go for it. I want to _bury_ WCW once and for all. This time next year, I want Lauren McCabe out of a job, not because she got fired, but because there is no company to fire her _from_."

Shane nodded grimly, the faintest traces of a smile on the corners of his mouth. "I'm taking care of it," he assured, "in fact, when Stephanie get's here, I've already got some idea's I want to throw at her."

"Throw away, Shane, I'm not kidding. I don't care what it takes, I don't like Turner, I don't like WCW, I don't like the way they treat their employee's, I don't like anyone in their administration, and I want them gone." He motioned for Linda to get up. "Linda, I need some polling done-"

"We'll contract them out today, Vince, don't worry. We'll get an idea of what the fans want to see." Linda tried to sooth her husband, but after being married to him for almost 40 years, she knew that when he got into these fits about his business and competition it was very hard to calm him down. "Let Shane do what he needs to do. You and I will call a meeting of the board and apprise them of the situation. We'll do what we always do."

Vince nodded and with one last look at his son, left the office, his wife behind him. Shane cracked his knuckles, sat down in his chair. Lauren ruined his life once already for a time. He would be damn sure she wouldn't do it again.

**WWF**

Jaina entered the Philips arena that Thursday, completely jazzed and ready for the night to begin. Smackdown! was going to be an amazing show, and tonight was fixing to be an incredible, never done before show, she just knew it. There was a buzz in the air that she hadn't felt since she'd debuted with the WWF, but as she walked around, she also felt a tension that she'd never felt before. Everyone she passed was nice, respectful, they held conversations with her, but...something was off. It was like they were watching very carefully what they said around her. She'd even caught a few people changing the topic of the conversation or stop talking immediately once she came around.

So when she knocked on Stephanie's private room and was greeted with a stricken face, she knew something was up.

"What is going on around here?" Jaina closed the door quietly and regarded Stephanie curiously. "Everyone is walking around like they know something's wrong, but they're not talking about it. I've had people literally stop talking as soon as I've come up to them to say hello or something..." When Stephanie didn't answer, the silence in the room caused Jaina to stiffen a little bit. "Steph did I....did I do something wrong? Is something wrong with Shane, is he mad at me or something?"

"No, no, Jaina, no...nothing like that," Stephanie reassured her, taking a deep breath and motioning for _her _friend to sit beside her. "Tuesday was just a...it was a rough day." She looked around as though to make sure that no one was around them, even though it was just her and Jaina in the room.

"Look um...I don't know if Shane's ever talked about her, to you, I mean, but he used to date a girl named Lauren McCabe. They were together for a few years and then she cheated on him during the last bit of their relationship...and Shane had a ring picked out for her and everything." She nodded at Jaina's shocked face. "Yea, so...on Tuesday, Lauren showed up at the offices and basically told Shane that she'd been hired by WCW as their new GM for both Nitro and Thunder."

"_What?_" The blond was floored; how could someone do something like that? "I take it that she did this on purpose? She knew that she'd be heading up the WCW for the Monday Night Wars?"

"Oh yeah," Stephanie leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. "I never liked her much, not really. Actually, we all tolerated her because Shane was so serious with her. Mom cried when Shane told her that he was going to ask Lauren to marry him." A sigh escaped her lips. "Now, she's heading up our number one competition..."

"And I take it she and Shane don't get along that well now a days?"

Stephanie barked out a laugh. "That's the understatement of the century, and seeing as how we've got about six months left of this one, that's saying something." She shifted towards Jaina a bit more. "Shane doesn't hate anyone. He strongly dislikes people, but I've never heard him use the word 'hate' until Lauren McCabe left him for the guy she's with now."

"Who is she with now?"

"Eric Bishoff."

"The commissioner for WCW?"

Stephanie nodded. "The very same. Let me tell you, those two are quite the duo. That's why everyone is so worried. Like I said, I don't like Lauren at all, but she was a marketing student for a reason; she know's how to get people to buy what she's selling. She's going to push the envelope, even more so than Bishoff has in the past. With the two of them putting their heads together..." she shook her head.

"You really think they're going to be that much of a threat to the WWF?"

"Yea, I do. So does my father. I was supposed to have the summer off before I came onto the WWF full time, but now he's got me in the writing circles and working with creative on storylines and things like that. Needless to say the most dramatic one we've got running now is the Ministry plot line...I've got a few idea's for that."

"What ever you need, Steph," Jaina nodded, "I love what I do. You know I'm willing to do pretty much anything to make sure we stay on top." She pushed a feeling of dread away in her stomach when she saw Stephanie grin. "I'm really happy you said that," Stephanie grinned.

"Oh God, what do you have planned?"

"We have the next three days for promotional tours. I can schedule a meeting with you, Taker, and Shane so we can go over some of the idea's I have. Provided all three of you go for it, we'll start enacting them as early as this Monday."

"I really don't think I want to know now," Jaina grumbled, "you've got me nervous."

"Oh trust me, if I get everything I want with this plot...you'll love me at the end."

_**WWF**_

The pyrotechnics were on point as they shot off into the Philips Arenaamidst thousands of screaming fans, eager to see what the WWF would come up with for it's first mid week wrestling performance. Vince McMahon stood just in front of the gorilla, his family surrounding him, eager to get out to the ring and get the show started. When the McMahon family music hit, all four owners climbed the stairs to the entrance ramp, parted the curtains, and walked out as though they were the rulers of a kingdom, and to a certain extent they were. Stephanie and Shane were the latter two out on the ramp, and the applause and cheers went up considerably for the children of Vince and Linda.

"Welcome, everyone, to Thursday Night Smackdown!" Vince turned around in the middle of the ring, addressing everyone in the crowd as more pyrotechnics and fire works went off around the stage area. "I promise each and every one of you, that this show will be cutting edge, it will be live, it will be brutal, it will be _better_ than any show you have ever seen in your life!"

"We have a lot on tap for all of you tonight," he continued, waiting for the audience to calm down slightly, "we have a lot to get through, and I'm going to give you a preview of some of the matches you're going to see tonight. Tonight, you're going to see Triple H verses the Rock in a number one contender ship for the World Wrestling Federation Title! Tonight, you will see Chris Jericho verses Chris Benoit for the Intercontinental Title! And tonight, you will see The Acolytes against The Road Dog Jesse James and Bad Ass Billy Gunn!"

The rest of the McMahon's clapped and nodded their heads in approval, elated that the fans were already having a fantastic night thanks to them. Vince McMahon's face on the titantron was one of complete happiness and bliss. But that all changed a second later when a very familiar entrance theme crashed into the arena, and an even more familiar duo made their way down the ramp.

The Rattlesnake was obviously not a very happy camper as he stomped his way around the ring, not even bothering to get up on the turnbuckles to enjoy the fans devotion to him. Instead he called for a microphone and began pacing.

"Let me see if I've got this straight. For the past five weeks, The Undertaker has been makin' my life a living Hell, he's attacked me, he's attacked my daughter, the son of a bitch sacrificed me in front of the world, he had his friends in the Ministry slam Jaina's head into a wall and try to intimidate her ass at Over the Edge, which cost me my match by the way...and The Rock and Triple H have a match tonight to see who's gonna be the number one contender for the Title?"

"Steve, Steve," Vince tried to calm Austin down, but after a years worth of stunners he should have known that that wasn't going to happen. "First of all...what are you doing here? You're not scheduled to be back here until next Monday night, you're supposed to be in a hospital-"

"Well, open up your eyes jack ass, cause I'm standin' right in front of ya, and if ya can't tell, your little announcement has pissed me off!" He glanced at Shane, standing behind his father. "And you, you beady eyed little bastard, I'm gonna get to you in a second."

Shane looked bewildered at that comment and immediately turned to Jaina for an explanation. Her face remained passive; a shrug was his only response from her as he shook his head and continued to watch Stone Cold pace around the ring like a caged animal.

"Vince, I think you've lost your mind, I really think ya have. And since I couldn't demand that I get a rematch last Monday night, I'm tellin' you that I want it tonight with The Undertaker!" Steve faced off against McMahon, who visibly gulped at the situation. It seemed that the Chairmen was so flustered that his wife had to speak for him, and speak she did.

"Steve, please listen to me. Do you deserve a rematch with the Undertaker for the World Heavy Weight Title? Of course you do. No one here is denying that, and no one here is saying that you won't get your shot. But Steve, as my husband mentioned, you're supposed to be getting treatment in a hospital for the injuries you sustained last Sunday at Over the Edge. As the CEO of the WWF, it would be irresponsible for me or for Vince to place you into a match against_ anyone_ until you are cleared by medical professionals."

Steve dropped his head, momentarily thinking. Linda McMahon was pretty much the only one in the owning family he respected. He didn't trust her by a long shot because of whom she was married to, but she hadn't screwed him over yet**, **and that was saying something.

"Thank you for taking my health into consideration, Linda, but as you can probably tell by the look on my face, not only do I not give a rats ass about my condition right now, I don't give a rats ass about what the doctors say, what the trainers say, or for that matter, what your jack ass of a husband says. If I've gotta drag my contract out and show ya the fine print, that's fine, but that contract says I can demand a title match if I lose, which I did, and that offer is good for up to one year to the date of the match, and I'm standin' here in front of ya tellin' ya I want it, and I want it _tonight!_"

The fans were definitely in his corner, and everyone knew Vince McMahon, whether they believed it or not, listened to his fans. He took the mic away from his wife and nodded his head. "Alright, Austin' you've got your match. Now, if I may attend to another matter of business-"

"Did I look like I was finished?" Stone Cold shook his head. "_Eh Eh!_ I wasn't done yet. I've got another matter of business to 'attend' to as well, and that business is you!" He pointed at Shane, and, understandably, the younger man was a little nervous. He was therefore very thankful that Jaina walked to the other side of the ring and also asked for a microphone.

"I don't know what you've got up your corporate sleeve," Steve warned, "but lemme be the first one to tell ya, and I've told you this before; that girl is my life, she's all I've got, so spending Over the Edge with her, and then the way you were lookin' at her last Monday night-not such a great idea. Just what the Hell did you think you were doin'?"

Shane's mouth was literally forming a perfect 'O', and he briefly thought about trying to explain himself, but he figured that at that point, it would be best for him to keep his mouth shut. But like Linda had spoken to Vince, Stephanie took the mic this time and spoke for her brother.

"Steve, hold on, please...just...just hold on, okay? Now," she took a deep breath, "I know my father and my brother have screwed you over in the past, and you have every right to be upset by that, but...but Shane is...well, he's a really sweet guy, and he was a perfect gentleman and...and..."

"Thanks, Stephanie, but seeing as how it's my life, I'll take it from here," Jaina cut in, squaring off with her father, "look Dad, nothing happened between Shane and I. In fact, you should be thankful for the fact that he was in our room with me when the Ministry attacked us, otherwise I probably would have been hung out to dry, or worse."

"Dad," she called him as he turned away from her. He had started to pace again, and that could be either a good sign or a bad sign. It meant he was thinking; the problem was no one knew what he was thinking about. "Dad, he's helped me a lot in the past few weeks. We haven't become close, but we aren't distant either, and I'd like you to at least respect the fact that he's helped your daughter out of some situations that she wouldn't have been able to get out of on her own."

_**WWF**_

"Austin's daughter has spoken," J.R. murmured, watching the confrontation in the ring, "you know, it's very obvious that Austin doesn't like whatever is going on between Jaina and Shane, whether they're friends or as we hear in the locker room something more, but I gotta say, I'm surprised Austin hasn't attacked Shane yet."

"Well can ya blame Stone Cold for being worried J.R., I mean, here we have Jaina, the daughter of Stone Cold Steve Austin, a redneck from south Texas with a foul mouth and bad attitude...and then you have Shane McMahon, the son of billionaire and Chairman of the WWF Vince McMahon. They're from different sides of the fence, Austin knows she wouldn't fit in with Shane's crowd!"

"Oh, so you're just worried about Jaina then, King, right?"

"No, I'm more worried for Shane, you can't take a sophisticated man like Shane and stick him with a redneck junior girl from Texas, it's just not right. Vince and Linda McMahon should be up in arms about this 'friendship' or whatever it is those two have got going on!"

_**WWF**_

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Vince had the mic once more and was now looking at his son with some confusion and just the slightest bit of betrayal in his aged features, "am I to understand that you...my son, my own flesh and blood, have..." he looked at Jaina, who merely arched an eyebrow at him.

"You say you're not close?" Austin interrupted Vince to address his daughter again.

"But we're not distant either," she repeated.

"Oh, okay, well, let's see how distant you guys were on Monday night, come on, let's see the footage!" Austin pointed up at the titantron as the last few minutes from last RAW's show came on the screen. Very clearly, it showed Shane holding Jaina against him protectively, glaring at The Undertaker. Back in the ring, Shane and Jaina couldn't hide the sheepish looks on their faces, and both father's caught it.

"Are you telling me that you...that you _like_ this girl?" Vince demanded. "Th-that you, that you...I mean, Shane, please...tell me that you haven't-"

"No!" Shane shouted, loud enough so that the mic picked it up. Jaina offered him hers and he came to take it, not moving. "Look, she's a friend of mine, or at least I consider her a friend. When someone is threatening to make you his 'dark bride' or whatever, I tend to get a little protective, what was I supposed to do?"

"That's Austin's problem, _not_ yours!" Vince answered angrily, to Linda and Stephanie's dismay. Linda tried to sooth her husband but he was having none of it. "Have you forgotten all the times this man's given me the stunner, or foiled all my plans for the WWF so he could have his way, Hell, he's attacked me when I was in the hospital, he's held a gun to my head-!" Vince stopped talking, which gave Austin the chance get into the conversation again.

"And have you forgotten all the crap he's pulled on me, and on the other wrestlers here? Guess who was helpin' him half the time?" He pointed at Shane. "That one right there. The apple don't fall to far from the tree on this one, Jay. He's a jack ass just like his father, and he'll pull the wool over your eyes just the same as he would anyone else!"

"And this girl," Vince gestured towards her, "I'm sure she's all polite right now and everything, but you mark my words, Shane, she's just like her own father; rude, vulgar, she's not good enough for you, she's from redneck trash!"

At first it seemed like Steve and Vince were actually agreeing on something, but once Steve heard Vince insult his daughter, he dropped the mic and whipped Vince around to face him. The two began yelling in each other's face, their noses touching, each pointing at the others children, each saying that one wasn't good enough for the other. The women and Shane just watched the display, not sure of their footing at the moment, but the two children in question were more than just a little ticked off at their parents.

They were therefore grateful when Linda signaled to them to follow her and Stephanie out of the ring. One by one, they went through the ropes, Shane holding them open for his mother, sister, and Jaina to step through. Once they were down the steps, he hopped off the mat himself and walked up the ramp, still hearing the insults hurled by each man, now to each other. Shane still had his mic, and before the four of them disappeared into the back, he turned around to speak.

"Hey, Dad...Austin, up here...yea." He waved as the two men finally stopped yelling and looked up at the top of the ramp. "You two go ahead and continue your argument, but let me just say this; I am going to continue to have friendships with whomever I want, and right now, I choose to have a friendship with Jaina. She chooses to have one with me. If the two of you have a problem with that, then that's your problem. But I'm not going to be a part of it." He looked at Jaina, silently asking if she wanted to say anything, but instead of taking the mic, she quietly looked at her father, disappointment and hurt in her eyes, drumming her fingers on her hips. She only shook her head and turned her back, walking behind the curtain, Stephanie and Linda following behind.

Vince McMahon and Steve Austin were left in the ring in a very peculiar way, a way that neither of them were left very often.

Speechless.

_**WWF**_

"Now, I want you both to listen to this very carefully, because I'm only going to say it once," Linda commanded Shane and Jaina's attention, with Stephanie looking on from the sofa in the private locker room the McMahon's had commandeered for the evening, "I don't know what you two have going on, and to be quite honest, I'm not really that concerned about it. You both are adults; you should be free to have whatever relationship it is that you want to have with each other. But, Shane, your father is the Chairman of the WWF, and Jaina, your father is one of the most powerful wrestlers we have, and neither man fails to get his way. So, if you want to continue to see each other, be around each other, or anything of the like, both of you need to prepare yourselves for some very nasty warfare from the patriarchs of your families." She raised her eye brows, looking to both of the addressed carefully. "Understood?"

They nodded their heads, somewhat numbly. Neither Jaina nor Shane were too thrilled about the events that had just transpired in the ring.

"Now, in my opinion, and Vince should know this, really; we have much bigger problems tonight than a retelling of Romeo and Juliet." Linda sat down on the sofa next to her daughter, somewhat warily. "The Undertaker says he's planning on unveiling The Higher Power tonight. I can only take that to mean that we have more problems from the Ministry on the way. So, I want both of you, all of you," she looked at her own daughter, including her in the conversation, "to be especially vigilant tonight. I don't want any of you to take the threats he hurled at you last Monday night lightly. Stay close to your respective locker rooms, or, Jaina, if you'd like to stay with us, you're more than welcome to."

"Thanks, Mrs. McMahon, but um..." Jaina laughed nervously, "I don't know how welcome I'd be here. Besides, I know my father would want me to stay close to him tonight. With everything that's going on, I'm sure one of the reason's he's upset is because he hasn't been there to protect me as much as he'd want." She looked up at Shane, apologizing with her eyes.

"It might be better if I stick with him tonight, much as I really don't want to at this point."

"Well, of course, it's your decision, but you're welcome to come here if things get to difficult with your father." Linda held up a hand to prevent another protest from the other girl. "Don't worry about Vince. He may be the Chairman of the WWF, but in this family, I normally have the final say on things, especially on issue's like this. I'll handle Vince, but you remember the invitation is open."

Jaina nodded her thanks and looked at all three of them. "I'd better get back to my Dad. You guys stay safe tonight." She headed to the door, which Shane opened, and after saying a quiet good bye to her, he closed the door, looking at it for a moment silently.

"You like her, don't you, Shane?" Linda asked knowingly, gently, in the only way a mother could. Her son's silence was more of an answer than if he would have spoken, and she just smiled to herself, looking at Stephanie, who was grinning from ear to ear.

_**WWF**_

Taking a deep breath, Jaina slowly pushed open the door to the room she and her father would be sharing for the night. She saw him, sprawled on the couch, a beer in one hand, the other hand holding up his chin as he watched the show on the monitor in front of him. He glanced up at her and she met his gaze silently, not wanting to say anything that would set him off on a rant. She knew very well how he felt about the McMahon family as a whole. Nothing she could say would change his opinion, and if she was being honest with herself, there really _wasn't_ anything she could say that wouldn't be sugar coating them, especially Vince and Shane McMahon.

He pointed to a spot open on the sofa and sat up, turning down the volume on the t.v. as she settled herself next to him.

"I ain't gonna tell ya what to do with your life, Jay. That ain't my style, it's never been my style. You turned 18 and from that point on, you were an adult, and you made your own decisions. My fault, really...raisin' you to be so willful and head strong." He cleared his throat. "So, this is all I'm gonna say on the subject; you wanna be friends with Shane McMahon, be friends with Shane McMahon. But don't be surprised when he screws you over, don't come cryin' to me, and don't be surprised that I send his teeth down his throat when he screws me over again."

Jaina swallowed, but nodded that she understood. She didn't expect her father to say this much, but at least she knew where he stood as far as she was concerned. She couldn't ask him to say anything more than that. "'Kay, Daddy."

"Jaina?"

"Yea?"

"Are you seein' Shane McMahon?"

She swallowed again. She could answer the question sarcastically, but that didn't seem to be the best move at the moment. So she shook her head. But she couldn't give a negative answer when he spoke again.

"But you want to." It was a statement, not a question, and Jaina cursed her father for knowing her so well. She hoped that when she had kids, she would be able to know their every move, emotion, and thought as her father did for her. "I don't know, Daddy. I mean...I like him, yea, but...a fish could love a bird, but where would they live, you know? Vince was right about one thing in a way. I mean, I'm not redneck trash, but I'm not in Shane's league either. I'm just this new girl in the WWF who's gotten saved a few times by the owners son."

Austin took his daughters chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. "Now you listen to me. I won't hear any of that garbage come from your mouth again. There ain't no such thing as 'leagues' when it comes to this, and even if there were, Shane would be out of yours, not the other way around. And it ain't like ya haven't given the Ministry a run for their money on your own." He released her and sat back, watching her silently for a few minutes. "I don't like Shane," he finally said, "I never really have, I probably never will. But he has helped ya out of some rough spots in the past couple weeks. He coulda run from the room last Sunday, but he didn't; he tried to help you. I don't know if Shane like's ya, although I really hope he don't-"

Jaina's jaw dropped open.

"I don't mean it like that. You know I think any man is crazy if they don't think you're as beautiful as a Texas ranch sunrise or if they don't see all the goodness in you that I do...but this ain't about me. It's about you. You do what you want. I ain't promisin' I'll like it, but I will promise that I'll respect it. Deal?"

Jaina broke out into a wide smile and launched herself into her father, hugging him tightly. "Deal. Thank you, Daddy!"

_**WWF**_

"Well, that's a side of Stone Cold Steve Austin I bet no one thought existed," Jerry murmured, looking at J.R., "I don't think he cursed once in that entire speech of his!"

"Well, we all know that Austin loves his daughter more than life its self, but he didn't say that he would put aside his own feelings, he just said that he would respect hers. Over the past year there's been a lot of bad blood between the McMahon family and Stone Cold Steve Austin-"

"He just doesn't respect his betters, that's all J.R." Jerry cut in, ever supportive of the higher echelons of the WWF.

"-and I guess you could say it was broken slightly somewhat when Austin rescued Stephanie from The Undertaker about a month ago, but it was made plain tonight that very little, if any, progress had been made on the relationship between the owner of this company and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Let's take a...." J.R. trailed off momentarily, his eyes catching something on one of his monitors.

"What are they doing out here?" Jerry asked, sitting back somewhat slightly and watching as a group, dressed in black, made their way down the Smackdown! ramp.

_**WWF**_

"Vince, I know you and your family are here, I know you're watching...I know you're waiting with baited breath to meet The Higher Power, to meet the man who will rule over the WWF, usurping your power." The Undertaker grinned underneath his black cloak, the other members of the Ministry surrounding him. On the Titantron, the McMahon family was shown, all four sitting in their locker room, watching intently.

"Vince, I am more than willing to allow you to come down here and bestow to you the honor of revealing this new ruler."

_**WWF**_

"Vince, where are you going?" Linda stood up, alarmed as her husband headed for the door. "Vince, stay here, please, you don't know what's out there?"

"Oh, yes I do. What's out there is The Undertaker, and I'm gonna end this once and for all." Vince slammed the door shut behind him, leaving his wife, son, and daughter in the room, all of them with worried looks on their faces.

"He'll be alright," Shane reassured his mother and sister, "he's Vince McMahon, Vinnie-Mac. He'll be fine."

_**WWF**_

"McMahon, I won't wait here all night for you," The Undertaker warned, "if you don't come out right now, I'll send for The Higher Power, and the honor of his reveal will be left to me."

Once again, the Titantron showed Vince McMahon headed for the gorilla, but he was being stopped by Patterson and Brisco. "Mr. McMahon, you can't go out there, he's crazy," Brisco tried to talk some sense into the owner. Once again, the Titantron flipped back to The Undertaker and the Ministry. The Phenom didn't say anything for a few moments, for a good 20 seconds, at least.

"Since it seems that Vince isn't going to be able to join us, I reveal to you The Higher Power." He swept his arm towards the ramp, and the figure that had been haunting the McMahon's and the rest of the wrestlers for at least the past month slowly and regally made his way down the ramp, his red hood covering his face as he walked down the ramp and up the steps, into the ring.

By now, all in the Ministry with the exception of The Undertaker were kneeling on one knee benevolently, awaiting the identity of their master.

And when the man took the hood off his face and let the world see who he was, there was an uproar in the auditorium like never before heard.

_**WWF**_

Stephanie, who had been sitting next to her mother on the couch was now settled over the arm rest, having fainted after seeing who The Higher Power was. Her mother was desperately trying to revive her, having called for the trainers to come to the room immediately. As Shane watched his mother try to rouse Stephanie, he looked at the television, and quickly, quietly, slipped out of the room.

_**WWF**_

"It's me Austin! It's me Austin! It was me all along!" The elation in Vince McMahon's voice was unmistakable, as was lost the inclination that he had done anything wrong. He pointed around the arena. "You all bought it, you all bought it, hook, line, and sinker! You all bought it! Even my _family_, even my immediate family bought it! Every damn one of you were made fools of!" He looked around, proud of himself, looking at The Undertaker, who was standing off to the side now, watching in silent victory. "But you know," McMahon continued, looking around, "you know, I really didn't want to do it. Austin made me, Stone Cold Steve Austin made me fool you, he made me, because Austin, I had to teach you a lesson that you would never, ever forget!"

_**WWF**_

"Son of a bitch," Jaina murmured, shaking her head, "poor Stephanie." She looked at her father, but instead of him sitting on the couch like he was a half a minute earlier, there was no one there now. "Dad?!" She jumped up, looking around the room, ducking her head into the bathroom. He was no where to be found. She glanced back at the television, looking to see if he'd made it to the ramp yet. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that where he was headed. Seeing that the camera was still on McMahon, Jaina bolted out of the room, running down the corridor. Maybe she'd be lucky; maybe she'd be able to catch up to her father and persuade him to reconsider running into the ring with ten opponents standing in it.

_**WWF**_

"Austin, now you know. Now you know, there is no price I will not pay!" Vince was smiling triumphantly, as though he'd just pulled off the biggest coup the world had ever seen. "There is no depth to which I will not stoop to make your life here on Earth, Austin, a total, complete, living Hell!" By this time, the Ministry was standing up, clapping their hands. Everyone in the ring was obviously very proud of themselves. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the World Wrestling Federation champion, The Undertaker," Vince nodded his appreciation at the man, and Taker bowed low, never breaking his eye contact.

Except when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shane McMahon run down the ramp and fling himself into the ring, taking his own fathers legs out from underneath him, and beginning to pummel the older man with deadly blows to the face. "How could you?!" Shane screamed, not paying attention to the other Ministry members, who were unsure how to deal with that particular situation. "How could you do this to us, to your family!? Your own daughter!"

That was as far as Shane got as he felt cold, clammy hands wrap around his throat and lift him up and off his father, The Higher Power. When Shane was turned, he already knew he'd be looking into the face of The Undertaker, one of the man's hands wrapped tightly around his neck, causing Shane's feet to give out from under him.

"Wait, wait...wait, dammit, wait," Vince got to his feet, checking his forehead to see if there was blood there and regained his composure, taking stock in the situation in front of him, "now...now, Shane, I didn't want to do this," he nodded his head, trying to make his son believe him, "I didn't _want_ to do this. Austin _made_ me do this. He made me have The Undertaker kidnap your sister and violate our home and stalk our family. Austin did all that, not me. Do you understand?" Vince looked for all the world like a child hoping that he got what he wanted on Christmas morning, but his only answer was a ball of spit chucked from Shane's mouth defiantly. McMahon's crumpled face was a hilarious sight to be sure, but that humor quickly faded as his enraged face quickly took over.

"Shane, I still love you, but...but you need to be taught the difference between love and tough love," Vince swung his arm into the air, signaling for The Undertaker to choke slam him down to the mat, but as Taker lifted the 29 year old into the air, the crowd suddenly erupted, and there was a new man in the ring.

_**WWF**_

Austin was striking anything that moved in his path. He was literally seeing red as he hit man after man to the mat. He was doing pretty well, until he was hit from behind by Edge and Christian, and everything went down hill from there. Even Shane trying to help him was not enough, and the two men were pummeled mercilessly. Shane, though he was able to escape the first choke slam was not able to escape the second, and he could have sworn that it was more vicious because he'd gotten away from it the first time. And the assault didn't stop there. Curling into a ball towards the ropes wasn't saving him any trouble as two people, he didn't know who, were stamping their feet into his sides and on his back.

Steve wasn't fairing any better as Vince McMahon himself was personally seeing to his beat down. After receiving two slaps in the face from the owner of the WWF, Austin launched himself at the man, only to be caught in the right hand of The Undertaker, sent up towards the ceiling and hurled back down to the mat below. He lay there for a moment, prone, hearing the crowd rise up again in screams, and a second later, he saw why, and it didn't make him happy.

_**WWF**_

"Dad...Daddy?" Jaina hovered over her father. "Dad, talk to me, please, please say something!" She watched her father's eyes focus onto her, but that was going to prove to be her biggest mistake. She wasn't paying attention to anyone else in the ring, and as she looked around, feeling something massive standing behind her, she barely heard her father's voice telling her to get out of there.

Seeing The Undertaker right behind her, Jaina turned and fell on her backside, scrambling backwards until her back hit the ropes. Thinking on her feet, or her ass as it were, she tried to scoot out underneath the bottom rope, but was literally caught in the arms of Bradshaw. Screaming and kicking, she tried to fight her way out of the man's grip, but it was to no avail. He, along with Farooq, carried her up the ramp while The Undertaker addressed the crowd one more time.

"See Austin, this is what happens when you mess with business. I've taken your title...now, I'm gonna take your daughter." He nodded to the Ministry and they continued their assault on both Austin and Shane, Viscera and Mideon each giving them belly slams to add to the list of injuries each knew they were going to sustain. The Undertaker and Vince McMahon made their way out of the ring and up the ramp, turning around once they reached the top to watch the carnage. Neither Steve nor Shane were moving now, and The Undertaker signaled for his men to retreat to the back. All that was left in the ring now were two broken bodies, and what were soon to be two broken hearts.

_**WWF**_

"Why?" Stephanie cried into her mothers lap, "why would he do this? _Why_? I don't understand Mom...I don't..." another sob escaped her, cutting off her sentence as the door opened. Patterson and Brisco entered, looking like they wanted to be in another place and time at the moment. Linda regarded them carefully.

"If either of you had anything to do with what my husband has done to our family, you can leave this room right now and never come back," she threatened, holding onto her daughter protectively.

"Mrs. McMahon, I can assure you...we had nothing to do with what Mr. McMahon did...we had no idea he was going to do this..." Gerald Brisco pleaded with his friends to believe him, and it was true; he and Pat had had nothing to do with what Vince had done or was planning to do. They were as in the dark as the rest of the family.

"Alright," Linda finally breathed, "I want you to take my daughter to the car. She's leaving, now. And I don't want either of you to leave her side until she gets into her room at the hotel. Take security with you if you have to, but she's not to be left alone until she's in her room, is that understood?"

"Yes, Mrs. McMahon," Pat stepped forward and tried to support Stephanie as she stood up, her hair damp from her tears, "come on Stephanie, let's get you back to your room," he beckoned her. Linda nodded, brushing her daughters hair back from her face. "I'll be right behind you, sweetheart, I promise. I'm going to get your brother, and then we're going to meet you there, alright?"

_**WWF**_

Jaina was pulling and yanking, but as hard as she might, she couldn't break free of the Acolytes who were carrying her to a long black car; a hearse. She knew that if she was put in that car, that was going to be the end of her. She had find a way to break free, but how?

"In ya go, girlie," Bradshaw opened the door and Farooq began the process of trying to push her in, but Jaina was having none of it. With Bradshaw behind the door, no one was holding her legs, and she was free to kick and push away from the frame of the door as much as she pleased. It was good that she kept screaming because her voice covered up the sound of the boot steps running up behind Farooq, and she was suddenly and unceremoniously dropped to the floor, on top of which, she heard various loud thumps.

When she was able to right herself and look around, what she saw first were two gold belts wrapped around the wastes of two men. The Hardy's? Hey, she wasn't going to ask questions. They had a bone to pick with the Ministry just as much as any body did. She stood up and backed away, watching them as they used their aerial attacks to throw the Acolytes bodies left and right, until the two Ministry members bodies were unmoving on the floor.

When the Hardy's were done with their little exercise, the walked over to where Jaina was still sitting on the floor and extended a hand to hoist her up. "You alright?" Matt asked her, checking her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. Jaina nodded her head, looking from him to Jeff. "Thanks for that."

"No problem," Jeff looked at the two prone bodies on the floor, "but keep your head up from here on out." They turned to leave, and as Jeff kept walking, Matt turned around. "Oh, by the way, I think a few of the trainers of your Dad and McMahon in the EMT area if you wanted to look for them."

Jaina stood stock still, watching them walk away. Her eyes closed, savoring her escape for the moment before she turned and walked the other way, heading for the EMT station, and hopefully, her father and Shane still intact.


	7. The Longest Walk

1**WWF**

"Alright," Vince walked in to the make shift office they'd set up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was Friday, the first day of three days full of events. Everything from autograph signings, to photo shoots, and arranged 'run in's between Stone Cold, Vince, Shane, Jaina, and the Undertaker, to two house shows were going to be packed into those 72 hours. At the moment, it was 7am, an hour before Jaina was due to be at her first photo shoot and interview for WWF magazine.

"Ratings were up last night," he announced, "we didn't beat Thunder, but we jumped considerably from last week. The ministry storyline is working better than we planned, so we're going to keep with it. I understand you," he looked at his daughter, who was sitting at the table with her brother, Jaina, Steve, and Mark, "have a few idea's on how we can capitalize on this, so," he put the files down on the desk and sat down, folding his hands in his lap, "you have the floor."

"Okay," Stephanie smoothed her hair behind her ears, mentally urging the tremors in her body to stop for the time being. It was her first meeting that she was in control of, and even though she'd been a part of the wrestling industry her entire life, she was still anxious at the thought of having a small part of control in it now.

"Like Dad said, the ministry storyline is a huge hit right now. We polled 1,185 WWF fans and asked them a series of questions, such as 'what storyline are you most interested in right now', 'who is your favorite wrestler', 'who is your favorite diva', etc. etc. What we found was pretty interesting." She cleared her throat. "Apparently, 71% are in high favor of a love storyline between you two," she pointed at Shane and Jaina, "68% are in favor of seeing more drama with Jaina and the Ministry, specifically either Vince McMahon or The Undertaker, and there was an overwhelming response of affirmative for Austin having the title back again." She flipped the folder she'd been holding closed and looked up.

"So, after I looked at the data, I got to working on a few story idea's. Jaina, I know you've pretty much said you're up for anything." She raised her eyebrows. "Is that everyone's take on the situation?"

"You bet," Austin shifted in his seat, and both Shane and Mark Calaway uttered a positive response as well.

"Okay," Stephanie grinned, "well, by the power invested in me by all of you, here's what I've come up with. It's drastic, it's edgy, and it's probably going to cause a stir with the parents out there, but I'm almost positive that it will draw us side by side with Nitro and Thunder, if not surpass those brands." She leaned forward and started in on her idea's, and as she spoke, she watched in glee as the eyebrows shot off everyone's heads, including her fathers. She was pretty proud of that one. It took a lot to shock him in this business.

_I guess I'm just as crafty as him after all,_ Stephanie thought to herself as she continued to talk.

**WWF**

"Good job, Jaina, hold it just like that," the photographer snapped his shots in rapid succession, taking about 15 photo's in the span of 10 seconds as Jaina looked on, giving the man a million dollar smile. While the other diva's of the WWF preferred skimpy clothing and sultry looks, Jaina wanted her first spread in WWF Magazine to be simply her. Simply her was natural make up, wavy, loose hair, form fitting jeans with a Texas cowboy belt and an Austin 3:16 shirt, styled to give her a mid drift. Black boots completed her outfit.

"Alright everyone, that's a wrap, thank you very much," the photographer nodded at everyone and walked up to Jaina, "are you sure you haven't done this before?" he teased, "you're very natural at this. The camera loves you, not to mention the photographer." He winked at her, and Jaina felt a flush on her cheeks. Until she'd come to the WWF, men hadn't really paid her any mind. Oh, they complimented her and told her how pretty she was, but...well, the industry was 90% male and many of the men were away from their wives 250 days out of the year. There was bound to be some heavy flirting going on with the life they all led.

After talking to the photographer, Jaina made her way over to her father. "Very nice," he complimented, "just let me know when we're gonna upgrade to barely there bathing suits so I can grab me some heart medicine with that issue comes out."

Jaina snorted, walking over to her chair where her purse and light jacket lay covering it. "I don't think that will be any time soon, Dad. Besides, I need to get a bit more in shape before we do any of _those_ kind of shoots." She flipped her jacket on over her shirt and slung her purse over her shoulder. "What's next?"

"An hour for lunch, then at 1:00, we have to be back at the Marriott for the autograph signings' and pictures with fans. There's a forum at 4:00 for some of the fans in one of the ball rooms, then after that, we have the house show." Austin shoved his hands into his coat pockets and led his daughter out the door of Ballroom A of the Philadelphia Marriott. "There's a restaurant in here, you game?"

She nodded and followed him in, listening to her father ask for a table in the back, away from the crowd with a bit of privacy. After the hostess had left them, their waitress came up, took their drink orders, then left them both in peace.

"So, what did you think of the meeting this morning?" Steve asked casually. "Didn't really get to talk about it with you 'cause we had to get right to your shoot, but...you okay with everything?"

Jaina shrugged, looking around the ornately decorated restaurant. "I don't know. I mean...yea, I guess I'm okay with how it's all gonna go down but...man, I had no idea Stephanie's mind was so devious. Now I know why Vince want's to put her with the writers. If this doesn't make RAW's ratings pull even with Nitro's, I don't know what will." She trailed off as their server came back with their drinks, took the food order, then left again.

"You should talk to Mark," Steve suggested, leaning back, "he hasn't really done anything like this either; might be good for the both of ya to ease your fears with the other, you know?"

Jaina frowned. "I'm not afraid of Mark, Dad."

"Of course you're not, but Jay, I can look at your face and tell that for the next three weeks, until King of the Ring, are going to be kind of strange for you. It's alright, we all have something like this that makes us feel a little weird, out of our element, uncomfortable..." Steve took a drink of his beer as he leaned forward.

"Yea, I know..." Jaina smiled lightly, then laughed, "I guess I'm going to have to be careful not to tell Stephanie to do what she wants with my character, right?"

"That was your first mistake," Austin agreed, "telling a McMahon they could do whatever they wanted. That never goes well. They'll all take you up on it. Speaking of McMahon, does Shane have anything to say about this?" Jaina shook her head. "Mostly he just can't wait to see it all happen. He's eating this up like a kid in a candy store...which is weird really because I'm his girlfriend and you shouldn't be that happy to see your significant other having to serve another man, but..." she trailed off again, shrugging her shoulders and looking at her father, "he told me not to worry about it, everything would be fine. I think he's going to be my counselor through the next few weeks or something."

"Talk to Mark," Austin said again, "do it soon, so you guys can have a comfort level when you get that ring. You hold back just one tiny bit, Jay, the camera's gonna catch it, mark my words, I know. The forum is gonna end around 6 o'clock tonight or so. Mark's gonna be there takin' questions; grab him for some grub after the house show and work out how you two are gonna do this." As he finished up, the server came back with their food, and both Austin's set to munching on their lunch, each of them mulling over their own separate storylines.

**WWF**

"So, this is interesting."

Mark Calaway sat across from Jaina in a small little restaurant in Philadelphia. They'd decided to forgo the Marriott's restaurant because of the busy atmosphere and also because after the forums and the house show, many of the wrestling fans were going to eat there anyway, and neither Mark nor Jaina wanted to be bothered while having this conversation.

"This is all gonna start Monday, right?" he asked, and Jaina nodded an affirmative. "Okay, so we have a couple of days to go over how we're gonna do this. Obviously, it's not going to be mutual between you and me in the ring..." he stopped as he noticed Jaina biting her lip, staring at the table. Even this conversation was making her uncomfortable. And he understood, he really did. Jaina wasn't the kind of woman to be overly affectionate in public, much less in front of 20,000 fans. She was, in all aspects, a very private young woman. She wasn't a basket case, but Mark had known her for years; he was good friends with her father, and Steve had raised quite the young lady.

Mark signaled his waiter to come over to the table. "Can we get two scooners of whatever's on tap?" Once the waiter left and came back a few minutes later, Mark pushed the beer towards Jaina. "If we're gonna talk about this, I'm gonna need you to loosen up."

That got a laugh out of the girl, and she picked up her glasses, cheered Mark, and took a drink. "Yea, that does help a bit," she sat back again, a smile now on her face as the tension had been cut.

"You ready to get to work?"

Jaina nodded. "Yea. I'm ready. What have we got?"

_**WWF**_

The music that hit the arena that night was a new theme, one that the fans hadn't heard before. It sounded like the McMahon family theme, but there was new twist to it, a darker under tone to the melody. When the group emerged, everyone discovered why.

Vince McMahon, along with The Undertaker, made his way down to the ring, his pompous swagger in full swing tonight. The events of the first Smackdown! event didn't seem to phase him at all as he leapt into the ring with a confident air, The Undertaker slithering in after him.

"You know," McMahon started out, but he quickly had to stop because the fans were letting him know, in no uncertain terms, how they felt about his actions as of late. "Shut up!" He looked around, but his ominous growl had done nothing. "You know, this is a tough business. I have to make decisions to keep you people happy every day of my life. But more importantly, I have to make decisions that I know will keep these wrestlers in line, to make sure that they know just exactly who is in charge around here, and that's exactly what I did last Thursday night."

"You see, Austin, if you'd just played by the rules, if you'd been the champion that I know you could have been, none of this...nothing over these past few months would have ever happened. This is all your fault, Austin. I had to do what I did to teach you a lesson, and I'm proud of what I did!"

"Now," he cleared his throat, "as for my family. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in them. This was just business. All of it. It was just business! I still love my daughter...Stephanie is my baby girl, Daddy's little girl, I love her with all my heart, in fact, I did what I did _for_ her...so that when she grows up, she knows that Daddy will always be there to make sure that no one runs over our family name."

Vince's words were not being received well by the crowd, but he continued on, knowing that they were just fools, they couldn't possibly understand the pressure that a man such as himself had on him. "I wish I could say the same thing about my son. Now, Shane...I still love you...I really do, you're my son. You're going to take over this business one day, at least, that's what I had planned, but your actions on Thursday night," he sighed, taking the mic away from his mouth for a moment, 'gathering' himself. "Shane, your actions last Thursday night were inexcusable. You know what this business is, you know how it's run, you know the chances and risks and decisions I have to make every day. But as if spitting on me and pummeling me in my face wasn't good enough, you, Shane, decided that you needed to hurt me, to betray me, right to my very core. And how did you do that?"

Vince paced the ring, stopping finally at the ropes closest to the ramp, and he pointed up at the entrance way, as though Shane were standing there. "You did that by...by _shacking up _with my worst enemies _daughter_!"

While Vince might not have liked that fact, the fans in the audience overwhelmingly approved, and they cheered even louder when the original McMahon Family's music filled their ears, and _still_ louder, when they saw not only Shane McMahon step out into their sights, but Jaina Austin as well, and neither one of them looked too pleased.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dad, I'm gonna stop you right there," Shane interjected, "number one, I haven't _shacked up _with anything or anyone. And since you like to talk about business so much, even if Jaina and I _were_ an item, which we're not, that would be a business you wouldn't have any say in!"

"As for my actions last Thursday night, I stand by them. I stand by them because you watched, you _watched_ for these past few months, you've watched _your_ daughter, _my _baby sister, the woman that both you and I are supposed to protect with our _lives_, you watched her as she cried, as she looked over her shoulder every time she stepped out of our house, Dad. You listened to her cry herself to sleep almost every single night, you saw her jump at any noise she heard! You watched her almost go insane with fear because of _that man!" _ Shane jabbed a finger in The Undertakers direction, his self control teetering on the edge. "And the entire time, it was _you_ doing it to her! _You!_"

"And then what, and then what?" Shane strolled down the ramp, feeling Jaina move with him. He knew that she'd follow him as far as he walked, and if he got in the ring, it was comforting to know that she'd be standing by his side, much as he didn't want her there. Jaina, however, was adamant. They were to stick together, no matter what. She wasn't leaving him alone, and he most certainly was not going to let her out of his sight after discovering who it was that was behind his sisters kidnaping.

"You sent The Undertaker after Jaina, because of who her father is. I don't like Austin anymore than you do, dear ole' Dad, but she hasn't done anything to you, _nothing_ at all. She's actually treated you with a lot more respect than you've given her!" He paused as he ducked under the ropes and held them open for Jaina to step through.

"You know," he ambled up to his father, a casual hand in one of his pockets, showing that he was indeed, not afraid of his father, or the man that was standing behind him, "you've done a lot of things to me over the years. I was never good enough for you, my athletic achievements were never good enough, my grades in school and in college were never up to your standards, and just recently, you've literally made me lose my mind wondering if my baby sister was safe. No more!" Shane's head shook in anger. "Never again! I'm not gonna let you hurt Stephanie or our family anymore, our good name is smeared now, because of you, and it's gonna stop, right here, tonight!"

The fans definitely agreed with the younger McMahon, as did Jaina, who silently nodded, one eye on Shane and his father, the other on The Undertaker, who had been watching her with a silent hunger that unnerved her.

"What you did to Stephanie will not happen to Jaina, and I know that's what you're planning, I know that's what you want! You want The Undertaker to actually accomplish with her what he was going to do with Stephanie, what is that, some kind of prize for the 'good work' he did for you, some kind of bonus?"

The entire time Shane had been speaking, Vince's face had remained passive, almost as though he didn't care what his son had to say. Now though, a crafty grin had spread across tempered Irish features, and he stepped back, rubbing his chin in thought.

"You know, there's one thing I am proud of you for Shane, and that is your ability to come up with ideas. It's a shame that you never recognize one when you have it though. But you've just given me a great one..."

"Ya know," he cleared his throat, "I'd hoped that you would come on board with my new Corporate Ministry, I'd hoped that you would be able to stand beside me and rule this business with an iron fist! And I'm still willing to give you that chance, but I know what you'll say, so I'm not even going to make the offer." His eyes caught Jaina's for a moment, and even though she didn't break eye contact, she felt a feeling of doom begin to form in the pit of her stomach. She'd seen that look on his dozens of times before, and they were almost reserved exclusively for her father.

"You two seem so...so close, so determined to protect the other," Vince observed, stepping back next to The Undertaker, "and you're right; The Phenom would like nothing better than to have you, young lady, standing by his side at King of the Ring when he sends Austin to Hell. And I don't need you, Shane, to stand beside me, but it would make life a lot easier for me, so here's what I propose...." He cleared his throat, letting his inner muse fester and deliver a shocking offer.

"You two have become so close, you're so determined to protect each other, make sure that no harm comes to the other....but I want what I want, and Shane, you know, I always get what I want, but here's what I'm going to do. You two are in a match tonight, yea, and if you two win, Shane, you're off the hook, you can do whatever you want, you don't ever have to see me again if that's what you really want. And Jaina, I guarantee you that The Undertaker will cease his efforts to obtain you!"

Jaina raised her eyebrows as Shane walked over to her. They had a quiet conversation so that Vince couldn't hear them. They could when a tag match, no problem. Shane was very well versed in the ring, having grown up in the business, and Jaina could hold her own in a fight. If she got into trouble, she'd just tag Shane in.

"You're on!" Shane yelled. "You can throw anyone you want to at us, Vinnie Mac, and I know you will, but when Jaina and I have our hands raised at the end of it, you better know one thing: if I can do anything I want, you better believe, I'm comin' after you! So come on! Who are we fighting?"

"Oh, well," once again, that smile, that devious, McMahon smile made it's way back onto Vince's lips, "that's the catch, isn't it? You see, your opponents, Shane...or rather your _opponent_..." his eyes shifted slowly from his son's face to that of Jaina, and the girl almost felt her knee's give way. _No..._

"Your opponent is actually standing in this ring, right behind you."

"_What?!"_ Shane yelled, almost leaping at his father, but The Undertaker got in the way, sending the son a menacing look warning him not to do that again, or there would be some very painful consequences. "You can't do that!" Shane protested, looking back at Jaina, whose face was noticeably paler.

"Oh yes I can, _yes I can_, because I own this company, it's _mine!_ So yes, I can do this. We'll call this...yea, we'll call this a 'Sacrifice' Match. Since both of you are so adamant on making sure the other doesn't come to harm or fall into The Undertakers hands, this will be perfect, and here's how it's going to work. Shane, if you beat Jaina in the match, you save her from The Undertaker, but your loyalties, anything that you do will be for me and me only. It'll be like old times, you'll love it."

Shane shook his head and looked away from his father, his face a mixture of anguish and confusion. How could his own father do this? He new that Vince was ruthless in business, but pitting his own son against a good friend, and a woman at that?

"And Jaina," Shane was brought back into the present as he watched his father advance on the young woman, and when she actually backed away from McMahon, Shane stepped in, placing a hand on his fathers chest.

"Oh, excuse me," Vince said smartly, but stayed where he was, knowing that he was now in full control, in his most powerful element, "as for you, young lady, if you win, Shane can remain free as a bird, to do whatever he wants. I won't be able to touch him, but you...you will willingly become a servant of The Undertaker, and when I say willingly, I mean it for the both of you. Because after there is a winner in tonight's match, that person will have to immediately exit the ring and report to either myself or The Undertaker."

The looks on Shane and Jaina's faces were to much for Vince, and he couldn't help but let a little snicker escape his mouth. Unfortunately, he'd been looking around at that point, and his snicker turned into a choke as his eyes settled on the top ramp.

"Linda?" He squinted, as though he were seeing a mirage of some sort. "Stephanie?"

_**WWF**_

Stephanie blinked back tears as she looked at her father and The Undertaker standing side by side in the ring. "Dad....Dad, how could you be so cruel to me?"

"I...I wasn't really trying to be cruel Stephanie, you see....it was just business." Suddenly, the confidence that Vince had been feeling a few minutes ago seemed to evaporate into thin air. He didn't even notice Shane and Jaina leave the ring. To him, they just suddenly appeared at the top of the ramp, but he wasn't concerned with them at the moment. He'd already taken care of them.

"Love doesn't have anything to do with business," he pleaded with his daughter to understand, but he saw her shake her head, and dammit if she didn't look exactly like her mother when she did that to him. "Love doesn't have anything to do with it, Steph, I still love you, you're still my little girl!"

Uh oh.

Not only had Stephanie not bought that explanation, she'd handed the microphone over to her mother, and Vince really did not want to hear from his wife at the moment. She had a habit of dousing all his plans, and he was having a really good night so far.

"Well, Vince, let's talk business." Linda had a smart little look on her face and Vince didn't like that one bit. But none the less, he stood silently. What else could he do? Oh, wait!

"Linda...first, before you say anything, I'd like to publicly say, in front of all these people here, that I love you!"

"And Vince, I love you," Linda replied honestly, "but in your own words, love has nothing to do with business." The crowd loved that retort and loved it even more when they saw Vince McMahon visibly swallow nervously. "You uh...you don't wanna go there, Linda."

"Oh yes I do want to go there. Yes, I do. First of all, I want to correct the lie, the lie that you've told everyone that you own 100% of this company. You very well know that there are four of us in this family, and that we own four equal shares. You also know that you didn't build this company by yourself, that while you were out front doing your thing, I and a lot of others were behind the scenes helping to grow and make this company successful. And this morning, I called an emergency meeting of the Board of Directors." She nodded her head at Vinces shaking one as he held up a hand.

"I-I wasn't notified," he said dumbly.

"You weren't notified?" Linda shrugged. "That's really unfortunate. But let me assure there's going to be some changes around the office, changes starting with the dress code."

Vince furrowed his eyebrow, looking at The Undertaker in confusion. "What?"

"Yea, the dress code. It's going to be a little...less formal, a little more casual at the office, in fact-cut off jeans might be the dress of the day at the office."

Stephanie stepped back and let her mother have more of the stage, leaning over to whisper to her brother. "Watch this."

"Number two; how about a little profanity in the office? Well, every now and then, a little sprinkling of profanity at the office if the situation warrants would be just fine, and third, drinking on the job-Yes, drinking on the job," she repeated, seeing her husbands hair line reseed about three inches just from where she was standing.

"Yes, at the end of a long, hard day at the office, how about a nice, cold alcoholic beverage to quench your thirst?" She smiled innocently for him. "What this all means, Vince, is that this morning, I stepped down from my position as the CEO of this company, but," she held up a finger, "not before I hand picked my own successor."

The crowd, having been given clues to what was going on, now erupted into a cheers, fairly certain of what was going on. But Vince was still in the dark. "You _what_?!"

"And that successor," she continued, "will have the full power and privileges to run this company as he sees fit!"

Vince swallowed again. He certainly did not like what he was hearing, and a voice in the back of his head was shouting at him the clues that were making him put everything that his wife was saying together.

"So, Vince, without further ado, allow Stephanie and me to introduce to you, the new CEO."

_**WWF**_

When Austin walked out onto the ramp, a red tie about his neck, the audience simply erupted, and they weren't the only ones. Jaina was grinning from ear to ear, clapping her hands, the problem with having to fight Shane later on tonight forgotten for the moment.

"Hell, I think ya heard what happened at the meeting today, so let's go ahead and start with that dress code thing," he yanked the tie off of his neck and threw it out to the audience, "I can go ahead and take off this power tie because I really no longer need this power tie, because Vince, you know that ole Stone Cold always has...the power finger, so here's to ya!"

_**WWF**_

"Oh my God," Jaina murmured, shaking her head as she watched her father walk back and forth across the ramp, her eyes darting from him to Vince, who was standing in the middle of the ring, completely dumbfounded. Hell, he was probably surprised as all hell that his wife managed to pull this off, but Linda was a McMahon, and it seemed that for as long as she'd been married to Vince, she'd picked up some of his own tricks.

Stephanie tapped her on the shoulder. "Have fun," she grinned and walked past the curtain, following her mother. She felt another hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Shane, a strange look of calm about his face.

"You okay?"

"Oh yea," Shane smirked, "I'm definitely okay. This is what happens when Dad pisses Mom off; she yanks the floor out from underneath him."

"Well," Jaina giggled, listening with half an ear as her father continued to spew out all kinds of demands and matches that Vince's Ministry were going to have to endure, "she certainly did that."

_**WWF**_

"Now, and I got one more thing for ya Vince..." Austin stopped dead in his tracks and dropped the microphone to his side, his eyes finding a matching pair standing just feet from him. When he raised the mic again, he didn't bother to look at Vince at first. "You just made a match between your little boy wonder over here, and my little girl. Ole Stone Cold can't do nothin' about that, but what I can do," he pointed his finger at Vince and the Undertaker, "is bar your ass and that dead ass standin' right next to you from ringside!"

"_What?!?!"_ Vince was absolutely livid. After hearing that Austin was now the CEO, he was going to make himself a title match, _and_ he had placed nearly all the members of the Ministry in matches tonight with their own respective worst enemies, he'd just about had enough. Why had his wife done this to him? It was just business!

"Yea, and there's also gonna be another little stipulation, cause I know you got all those referee's in your pocket, they all kiss your ass, so the stipulation is that there will be a special guest referee," Austin paused long enough to allow the crowd to show their appreciation for taking control of the situation, "and that special guest referee will be none other than Mic Foley!" Stone Cold grinned. Vince was now jumping up and down in the ring, his face red as a tomato. His night had not gone exactly the way he'd wanted it to go, and Austin was more than willing to continue to make his life a living hell.

_**WWF**_

"Shane?"

Shane looked up, seeing his sister standing in the doorway of his private office. He didn't bother to get up, or otherwise acknowledge her presence, but he didn't tell her to leave either. She slowly walked in, cautious of her surroundings and sat down next to him on his couch. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay..." he sighed, hanging his head slightly. "No. I'm not okay. After tonight, I don't know if I'll ever be okay, no matter how this match winds up going."

They sat silently for a moment, Shane thinking about what was going to happen in just under an hour and a half, and Stephanie trying to find the words that would comfort her big brother. Unfortunately, none were coming to mind.

"How could he do this?" he suddenly asked. "I don't understand...the Ministry, having The Undertaker abduct you, this match with Jaina...how could he do this to our family? Why is he doing this?" He pinched his nose with his fingers', trying to stop the headache that was threatening to unleash in his head. He felt his sister grip his other hand in her small one and smiled slightly. The bond that they shared was closer than that of any other siblings he'd met.

"I don't know, Shane..." she leaned against his shoulder, brushing her long, brown hair out of her eyes, "I've been going over this in my mind the entire weekend, and I still haven't come up with anything. I guess...this is just...who he is."

"This is just who he is?" Shane scoffed. "Well, that's not good enough for me, Steph! He put you through hell, he's making me wrestle Jaina tonight, I don't even think she's ever been in a ring before!__He's going to make me get in there with her and...and..."

Stephanie bit her lip, wrapping her arms around his torso. "You could always ask her to let you cover her. I know you don't want her to beat you, I know how you feel about her...you guys like each other, don't you." The fact that it was a statement and not a question made Shane's head sink even lower.

"You know, I can deny that to everyone else in the world except you. You know that right?"

Stephanie smiled lightly. "Yes, I do. And there's no doubt in my mind that she feels the same way. You guys have to figure out something before the match tonight. I don't want to see either of you lose."

"You mean win?" Shane smiled sadly at her. "Yea...but I'd much rather I pin her than her pin me. I don't think there's much chance of that happening but..." he trailed off, tapping his sister's knee, her que to get up and leave him alone.

"I love you, okay?" Stephanie leaned down and kissed her brother on his head, and he returned the gesture on her cheek.

And she left, leaving him alone with his thoughts, wrestling with what he was going to have to do that night.

_**WWF**_

"Jaina, I ain't jokin' here."

"Dad, I'm not laughing here."

"Watch your tone of voice, baby girl," Austin growled, "I'm tryin' to make sure you don't wind up as The Undertaker's personal assistant here."

"You think that I _want_ to do this match!?" Jaina yelled, not heeding her fathers warning. "You think I want to get in there and fight Shane tonight? I don't! But I have to, and if it's between me doing what The Undertaker wants or having Shane under Vince's thumb for the rest of his life-" she bit her lip and turned away, covering her face with her hands. Damn Vince, damn The Undertaker, and damn anyone else who had anything to do with this mess. She felt her father move behind her.

"Aw, hell," he breathed, "you're gonna try to beat him, aren't ya?" When she didn't answer, Austin moved to stand in front of her. "You're gonna sacrifice yourself so that Shane don't have to, is that it?"

"Dad-"

"Jay, just because ya like the guy don't mean that you've gotta do this. He's a McMahon, he and Vince probably have this whole thing set up, he'll probably turn on ya the second-"

"Dad, _shutup!_" Jaina yelled at her father, the first time in a long time, she screamed at him. "I am tired of hearing about how Shane is going to screw me over just because his father had done it to you, I am tired of it!"

"Now," she continued, not paying attention to the look of shock that was in Steve's eyes, "I am going to go out there, and I am going to do my best to win that match, and if winning the match means that I have to sacrifice myself to The Undertaker, then that's what it means, but I am _not_ going just lie down and let Shane sacrifice himself for me, I won't allow it!" With that, she turned on her heel and slammed open the door, leaving her father to stare after her, a lost expression on his face.

_**WWF**_

He found her sitting in a forgotten room, in a part of the arena that the WWF wasn't using. He knew he'd find her in a place like this because it was exactly the kind of place he'd go to get away from everyone else. He'd searched a couple of hallways and rooms before he'd found her, but none the less...He took a deep breath and walked partially into the room.

"Hey."

Jaina looked up, not surprised that Shane had found her. "Hey."

He heard her let out a long, calming breath as he walked to sit beside her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each treasuring the quiet and privacy, and the last moment that they were likely to have with each other for a long while.

"I don't want you to try and beat me tonight," Shane murmured, "I've dealt with my father before, I know how his mind works, I can deal with what ever it is that he wants me to do for him."

Jaina didn't look at him, she just kept her eyes focused on the floor, folding and unfolding her hands. She couldn't speak at the moment, in fact, if she opened her mouth, she knew that she would let the cry that she wanted to shed so badly escape her mouth, but she wasn't going to put herself, or Shane, in that situation. She didn't want his pity or his sympathy. She just wanted him safe.

"Jaina." Shane turned his head further to the side to see more of her face, but she remained averted from him, her blonde hair falling to cover her eyes and cheeks. "Jaina, promise me. Let me do this. I don't want you with The Undertaker, I don't want you anywhere near him, I don't want you to have to endure what my sister would have had to endure. I don't want that for you."

"Shane..." Jaina sniffed, actually sniffed, and that was when Shane knew that, even though she was doing her best not to, she was hiding her face because she was crying. "I don't want you to have to be under your dad's thumb for the rest of your life."

"Don't worry about me; I know what I'm doing."

"I do worry about you..." she turned her head towards him just enough so that he could make out icy blue eyes in between her honey strands, and the look on her face nearly took the breath out of him. "Don't ask me not to fight. That's something I can't do. There's obviously a side of your father that you didn't know about and-" she swallowed trying to regain some control of her voice, "and I don't want to have to watch you do things that you don't want to do...just because of me." She was finally able to look at him fully, and she wasn't sure what she saw in his eyes, but she knew that in the two months she'd known him, and for all the times she'd watched him on television, he'd never looked as torn as he did at that moment.

"Don't do me any favors, Shane McMahon," she murmured, "because when we step into that ring, I won't be doing you any."

Shane sighed; what was he going to do? She actually wanted to fight him, she wanted to win...for him. She was ridiculously stubborn_**, **_didn't she know what she was asking him to do?

"I know what I'm doing, Shane," she consoled him, as though she'd read his mind, "so please don't ask me to lie down in that ring and _let_ you cover me. Please." She locked eyes with him_**, **_and in that moment, there was an unspoken agreement; whatever happened out there tonight would be fixed as soon as possible, no matter what.

Shane stood up, not blinking, not losing sight of the woman's eyes in front of him. Kindly, he held out his hand. "At least let me walk you to the ring?"

Jaina blinked. What?

"That way we show everyone that we're a united front, that we're not afraid...that you and I..."

"That you and I what?" she repeated, placing her hand in his and standing up.

"That you and I....that we didn't want to do this," he finished, gripping her hand tightly. Jaina smiled lightly. "I think I can do that."

_**WWF**_

"The following match is scheduled for one fall, and it is a Sacrifice Match. Now, if Shane McMahon is able to pin Jaina Austin, he will serve Vince McMahon willingly and faithfully. However, if Jaina Austin is able to pin Shane McMahon, Shane will be free of his father's influence, and Jaina must serve The Undertaker in any capacity he see's fit." Lillian Garcia visibly winced as she spoke. She didn't like this match anymore than anyone else in the locker room did. "And now, introducing the special guest referee for this match, Mic Foley!"

The familiar strings of a guitar filled the arena, and the fans were up and out of their seats, always excited to see Mic Foley, whether or not he was wrestling. The King of Hardcore made his way down the ramp, fist raised and toothless grin all the way down as he climbed into the ring, taking his place beside Lillian Garcia.

When Mic was ready to go, Shane's entrance music sounded. "And introducing first, weighing in at 234 pounds-" she stopped once she saw Shane and Jaina walking down to the ring together and quickly reworked her announcement in her head, "Shane McMahon, and introducing Jaina Austin, weighing in at 136 pounds!"

She looked on, the very picture of sympathy on her face as they both got into the ring, making their way to separate corners. As she turned around, heading back to her position, she noticed one of the ring hands signaling for her to come over. She bent her head down, and if her expression hadn't been sympathetic enough for the young pair in the ring, she found herself having to gather her voice once again.

"Excuse me, I've just received a message from Mr. McMahon regarding this match," she waited until Mic, Shane, and Jaina had they're eyes on her. "Per Vince McMahon's orders, the match is now scheduled for no count outs and no disqualifications." She mouthed 'I'm Sorry' to both Shane and Jaina as she managed herself out of the ring and down to her usual chair, sitting down heavily.

This was not going to be pretty.

_**WWF**_

It was a stand off. Neither Shane nor Jaina wanted to start the match. They walked around each other, biting their lips, shaking their heads, pacing in their own private corners. Mic Foley just let it happen. He was there to referee, not to start a brawl between a man that was about 100 pounds heavier than a woman who'd never seen ring action in her life.

Finally, Jaina faced Shane, her hands on her hips, tapping her foot. She wanted this over with, and it looked like if she wanted that to happen, she'd have to be the one to start it. She walked over to Shane and looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry," she said, before she slapped him across the face, taking the opportunity of his shock to push him into the corner nearest to him, landing him with sloppy fists and knee's and anything else she could think of. But Shane, having had some time to regroup and not having someone as powerful as a WWF superstar punching him, shoved Jaina to the mat and watched as her head smacked into the surface. Seeing his chance to end the match quickly, he rushed over and covered her, yelling at Mic to get the count down, but Jaina lifted her shoulder at the 2 ½ , and Shane rose up again.

"Dammit, Jaina, don't make me do this!" His plea's felt on deaf ears though as Jaina got to her feet and beckoned him to bring it on. "I could say the same to you!" she shot back. "The Undertaker wants me, not you, so just let him have me!" She rushed at him, spearing him to the mat and hitting him again with slaps to the face, straddling him as she did so.__

So, Shane did the only thing that he could do; he grabbed her by the hair and threw her off him once more, but this time, he didn't allow her to breathe. Right where she landed, he gave her an elbow drop straight to her chest, the impact so great that she bounced off the mat, lying prone after she landed, only able to blink up at the lights. But she felt Shane cover her again, and once more, she kicked out on sheer will and stubbornness.

Shane slapped his hand to the mat in frustration. Why couldn't he just let him do this for her, why? Standing up, he crossed over to the turnbuckle and climbed up it, turning around once he was on top and looking down at his target, still lying right where he'd left her. He shook his head just before he jumped.

And he hit the mat hard, folding over and holding his stomach and pelvic area, realizing after the fact that Jaina had moved at the last minute.

Jaina, meanwhile, had decided that she wasn't going to beat Shane with just her hands. And since this was no disqualification, and because he wanted to make things difficult, she pulled herself over to the side of the ring and slid out, making her way over to Lillian. "Get up," she told her, and the announcer hesitated for a moment. "Lillian..._get up_. I'm in no mood to play a sympathy card right now, get up." Lillian did so, and Jaina took the chair out and folded it back up, taking it with her back into the ring.

She waited until Shane got up, and being that he'd tried to perform a Shooting Star on her, it took quite a while, but when he did, and when he turned around, he was greeted with a chair shot straight to the forehead. Mic looked at the young woman somewhat approvingly, until she walked towards Shane, chucking the chair to the mat and rolling Shane over, covering him. But she didn't hear the pounding of the mat, and she looked around for Mic.

"Foley, get over here and count!" She could see the uncertainty in the man's eyes. "Mic, _please!_"

Reluctantly, Mic got to the mat and began to count, but that little hesitation had cost Jaina, and Shane was able to kick out. This time, it was Jaina pounding the mat in frustration. "Don't hesitate next time, Mic, I know what I'm doing!" She pulled Shane up, intending to send him into the ropes, but Shane countered and flung her instead. When she bounced off, she was able to duck the clothesline that was coming her way, and bounced off the parallel ropes, flying into Shane as fast and hard as she possibly could. They both went down, but Shane was able to roll over top her, and Mic began counting again, but Jaina, once more, lifted her shoulder up, able to save herself (ironically) one more time.

However, Shane's positioning enabled him to see the chair that was still lying in the ring after Jaina had gotten done hitting him with it. He picked her up and dragged her over in a head lock, intending to bull dog her into the seat. But Jaina was alert now, and she countered, pushing Shane into the ropes just behind the chair, and as he came back, she used the move he was going to do on her...on him. A bull dog right into the chair. Wasting no time, she quickly rolled him over and covered him.

One.

Two.

Three.

"I'm sorry, Shane," she immediately got off of him and instead knelt beside him. "I'm so sorry!" Those were the only words she was able to get out before the arena went dark and she heard the tolling of the bell. That bell now took on special meaning for her. She felt a hand on her cheek and knew it was Shane's as she took it in her own. "I'm so sorry," she said again, hanging her head over his, looking at the small trickle of blood that was now there.

"Jaina run...please, run...I'll take your place, just get out of here," Shane wasn't used to begging, but now it seemed like the perfect time to learn as he got to his knees in front of the blond. "Get out of the ring," he told her, looking toward the ramp, watching as not only The Undertaker, but Vince McMahon stride to the ring, taking their time. They were in no hurry. "Jaina, please!" he looked back at her, but she shook her head sadly. "I'll be seein' ya," she leaned forward, pressing a small kiss to his cheek before rising to her feet, Shane following her lead. He wasn't going to leave well enough alone though; he got in front of her, not wanting to let her go without a fight. He heard the fans cheering for him, a remarkable feet in and of it's self. Who knew that all he'd have to do was be the charming, chivalrous guy he knew he could be to earn that?

"I believe the deal was that whom ever won the match was to come immediately to the back to their respective master," Vince reminded them both, "so, Jaina, I want you to take a look at the titantron for me."

"You son of a bitch!" Jaina was looking at the screen, and what she saw on it infuriated her. Her father, the new CEO, was being beaten to a bloody pulp in his own locker room. "Dammit, stop Vince!"

"You want me to tell them to stop?" Vince grinned at her evilly, "walk over to The Undertaker and leave with him. That's all you've got to do. Just agree to carry out the stipulations of the match, and I'll call off the Ministry." He watched the girl stare at the screen a few more moments, but inch by inch, she began to make her way over to The Undertaker, until Shane stopped her.

"Dad, this is ridiculous, okay? She doesn't need to go with The Undertaker, I'll go with you, right here, right now, no problems, I'll go willingly," Shane spoke up, holding out one hand to stop Jaina, holding out another as an offering of himself, "c'mon, Dad, like you said, it'll be just like old times."

"Shane, I told you, I knew what I was doing, I didn't get the crap beat out of me to win that match and then watch you play let's make a deal!" Jaina shrugged Shane's grip from her arm, but his other hand was still out, waiting for his father to shake it.

"You know, Shane...that sounds like a great idea to me." Vince took his son's hand, shaking it once, twice-

Then, he pulled the young man towards him and in the blink of an eye, per a clothesline, Shane was lying on the mat, his head having hit the back of the mat so hard that it had knocked him out. Jaina forgot about the two men that were there to take her and fell to his side, calling his name, trying to revive him.

"Undertaker," Vince pointed at Jaina, "make her see some reason, will you please?"

Stealthily, The Undertaker walked over to Shane's body and knelt down, placing a cold, clammy hand around the boy's throat and looked at Jaina. "Get up, or I can do worse," he warned her, and between seeing Shane defenseless on the mat and still hearing the sounds of a brutal beat down coming from the Titantron, Jaina slumped and closed her eyes. It was a moment of truth for her.

Slowly, she rose to her feet again, her eyes never leaving The Phenom's as she crossed over Shane's body, walking to the turnbuckle. She waited until she felt the dark presence beside her, and with a last look at a man she'd come to care very much about, she exited the ring, Vince McMahon on one side, and her new Master, The Undertaker on the other.

It was the longest walk of her life.


	8. A Union of Darkness

1Authors Note: So sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's been very busy at the VA General Assembly! Hopefully, I will have more time to update all my stories, not just this one, in the coming weeks. Until then, I hope this little morsel is enough to still your hunger!

**WWF**

"Well, that was pretty awesome!"

Shane shook his head as he closed the door to Jaina and Steve's locker room. The show had just ended, and now the back stage crew was beginning their wrap up of the night. "Now we see if the story line is really taking off," he murmured, watching her change into a pair of jeans and regular t-shirt. "You alright?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine." She pulled the shirt over her head and looked at him, an expression of concern on her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yea, yea, I'm fine. I'm good." Shane ran a nervous hand through his brown hair. "I just wanted to make sure I didn't hurt you too bad."

Jaina paused in the middle of pulling her hair through a pony tail strap. But with a click of her tongue, she finished the hair style and placed her hands on her hips, turning around and landing her eyes on Shane. He looked behind him, trying to ascertain if he was the true target of that rather annoyed look, and when he saw that, yes, there was no one standing behind him, he looked back at the petite blond.

"What?" he innocently asked.

"I knew this job when I took it, Shane. Don't worry if I get a little banged up out there, okay? I get enough of the mother hen routine from my father, I don't want it from my boyfriend too." Outwardly, her features demanded from him the respect that he gave the other Diva's that performed, but inside, she was pleading with him not to bring up the subject again. A few months ago, she wanted to be in this business because she wanted to know more about her father, performing had always been fun for her, and it had always been a dream to perform at least once in the rings of the WWF. But now, this business was a part of her as much as she was a part of it. After doing this for only two months, she couldn't imagine going back to a boring, 9am to 5pm job.

It just couldn't happen for her.

"Fine," Shane flexed his fingers and reached for the door, "I'll give you some space. See you back at the hotel." With that, he softly closed the door behind him, leaving Jaina standing in the middle of her and her fathers locker room, completely speechless.

Did they just have their first fight?

**WWF**

"Shane, do you have to pace in my office or can you...you know, do your thing some where else?" Stephanie had kept quiet for the first few minutes of Shane's entrance into her little business room at the arena, but after his non stop walking back and forth from one corner of the office to the other, she'd had all she could take. Shane was her brother, and she loved him with all her heart, but he was driving her insane.

Shane seemed to understand this, and he stopped mid pace and turned to her, apology written all over his face. She shook her head at him and pushed aside the script idea's she was working on, standing up and walking over to him. "What's wrong, Big Brother?" She searched his eyes intently. With Shane, she almost had an empathic ability, and vice versa. The McMahon siblings were very sensitive when it came to the emotions or mental state of the other. It was almost like they were twins.In fact, their parents often joked that they were the Luke and Leia Skywalker of the wrestling world.

"It's Jaina," he finally mumbled, crashing on the sofa**, **"I think I ticked her off."

"How so?"

"We had that match tonight and I wanted to make sure I didn't hurt her too much-"

"-so you went to find her to make sure." Stephanie finished for him, clicking her tongue in her cheek. "And she didn't take to kindly to that?"

"She told me that she already had her father playing the mother hen role to her and she didn't want me doing the same...and she had this look on her face like...like I had insulted her big time or something." Shane sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back on the neck of the couch, twiddling his fingers together.

"Well, ya gotta think, Shane-o, her dad might play the biggest SOB on the planet, but you've seen how protective he is of her. Jaina told me that he didn't even want her to get into this business in the first place. It was only after she graduated college that he even entertained the idea of her doing shows and getting in the ring. So, she's pretty much had this all her life."

"So, the last thing she needs is another guy telling her 'don't hurt your pretty head' huh?"

Stephanie nodded sharply. "That's about it in a nut shell, yea."

"So, I'm just supposed to get into a ring with Jaina, beat the hell out of her, and not ask if she's okay?"

"No, you're supposed to get into a ring with Jaina, beat the hell out of her, ask if she's okay, and then when she says 'yes', leave it alone." When Shane rolled his eyes, Stephanie locked her own blue orbs onto his face with a glare. "Hey, you came into _my_ office, asking me for advice. Don't scoff at it just because you don't like it."

She smiled triumphantly at Shane, and for his part, the only come back he could come up with was, "I hate women."

**WWF**

It was 1am before Shane walked quietly into the suite he was sharing with Jaina. He was instantly aware that she was there, or at least had been there. Her bag with all her clothes and wrestling gear was by the wall near the bureau, and the jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing earlier in the night were piled on the bed, along side a towel. So, she was ready for bed.

"Jaina?" He looked in the bathroom, but when he did see her there, he came back out and, putting his hands on his hips, glanced around in the bed room area.

"Out here."

"Jay?" Shane walked over to the balcony door, which he now noticed was partially open, and was relieved to see Jaina sitting on the balcony, her bare feet propped up on the table in front of her. "Hi," she greeted him, smiling lightly at him, inviting him to step out with her, which he did gladly.

"You're ready for bed already," he observed.

"I am," she responded, "but not before I do something first." Before Shane knew what was happening, Jaina had dropped her feet from the table and stood up, snaking her arms around her boyfriends middle and kissing him softly and sweetly. This move pleasantly surprised Shane**, **and he responded vigorously, holding her tightly to him. He broke the kiss gently, placing small pecks on and around her lips before he looked down at her.

"I'm sorry."

They'd both said it at the same time, and both burst out laughing, each feeling silly for how they'd reacted earlier in the night. Jaina, still giggling, rested her head against the mans chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I know you were just worried about me. I just get so tired of Dad reminding me to be careful in the ring all the time, especially when I didn't even really do anything in it until tonight...it grates on my nerves a little."

"Well, I shouldn't have left the room," Shane replied, trailing his hand down her back, breathing in the fresh night air that Philadelphia had to offer, "so I should apologize for that." He looked down and returned the infectious grin that Jaina was giving him. Suddenly, her face changed into a dramatic expression. "Let's never fight again!" she grasped hold of him tightly and crushed herself to him, Scarlett O'Hara style, and Shane couldn't help but chuckle as his cell phone started ringing. "Okay, okay, we'll never fight again...can you grab that for me, you've kind of got my arms pinned a bit here..."

"Sure," Jaina not only maneuvered his cell phone out of his pocket, but she also answered the phone, "Shane McMahon's cell phone, how may I direct your call?"

"Oh, so you must be Shane's new little play thing, hmmmm?"

Shane knew there was something wrongwhen he saw the bright smile that had just one moment ago been on Jaina's face drop from her lips completely. She glanced up at Shane, confusion in her eyes as she continued the conversation, not knowing why she didn't just hand the phone over to its owner. "Who is this, please?"

"Oh, Shane must not have told you about me. I'm Lauren McCabe**, **just an old flame, nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about."

Jaina was too speechless to answer, and all she could do was continue to listen to the other woman on the line speak. "Look, I was watching the last hour of RAW tonight. I would have watched the first hour too, but I'm sure you know how running a show can be...well, actually, I guess you don't. You did have your father get you into the business from what I understand."

"Look-" Jaina started, but by this time, Shane had had enough of watching. He wanted in on the conversation, he wanted to know who it was that could make his girl friends smile completely disappear like that. "Excuse me, who is this please?" he said into the speaker.

"Shane baby, how are you doing?"

"Lauren," he growled, turning away from Jaina and beginning to pace the balcony, "what do you want? And how did you get my cell?"

"Oh, I have my ways, Shane baby. Not _everyone_ in the WWF hates my guts, you know. Oh, don't worry, no one's betrayed you, you're not losing any of your super stars to the better brand...yet. I just wanted to call and congratulate you. I hadn't realized you'd down graded to beating up your girlfriend on television.**" **Shane glanced over at Jaina, who was listening intently to every word that was being spoken, as she could hear the womans' loud voice and her cackling from across the ten foot balcony**. **

"But no, seriously, Shane, who came up with this lousy storyline, huh? Your creative department must be in serious turmoil if they're going with the classic Bad-Guy-Wisks-Away-The-Princes-Love-That-Can't-Be-Revealed-Only-To-Be-Saved-In-The-End-By-Her-One-True-Love, which judging from what I saw tonight, has to be you, am I right?"

"Lauren, if you know what's good for you," Shane growled dangerously, in a tone Jaina had yet to hear from him, "you will never call this number again." He promptly hung up on her and shoved the phone back in his pocket, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Shane?" Jaina crept up to him slowly, not sure of her footing at the moment. Her boyfriend looked like he was about to hit the nearest thing next to him, and she most certainly did not want that to be her. Not that she thought that Shane would ever intentionally hurt her...outside of the ring...

Boy this relationship was going to be more difficult to navigate than she thought.

"C'mon," she held out her hand to him, knowing that he didn't want to discuss Lauren McCabe at the moment, "let's go to bed. We have an early flight tomorrow, and you've had a rough night."

"Hey, you talked to her too," Shane grumbled, but allowed himself to be led into the suite, closing the door behind him.

"I was talking more about the fact that you had to get yourself into the mind set to beat up your girlfriend to score some ratings points, but that too," Jaina joked.

**WWF**

Lauren's brown eyes moved from the phone on her desk, which she was still holding in her hand, to the man that sat across from her. She grinned and hung up the receiver, leaning forward in her seat, resting her arms on the table.

"That was too easy," she purred.

"What was?" Eric was slouched comfortably, watching his lady love relish her moment, short as it was, of crafty glory. If there was one thing he could say about this girl, it was that she had no qualms shifting the knife a bit after it had already been plunged in someone's back.

"He gets so angry, Shane does. You'll never see him blow up like Vince, but there's this-this tone that he gets in his voice when he gets pissed. And I heard it just now." Lauren sighed, closing her brown eyes, the smile she had on her face growing wider with glee. "Can you imagine the story line that they're trying to run? I really would like to know who came up with that..."

"Well, you may soon get your chance. With the NWO running things in the WCW right now, we've been slowly but surely siphoning off loyal RAW viewers. In a year, their writers will have to come to us for work!"

"Here's hoping." Lauren leaned back in her chair and propped her heeled feet up on the desk. WCW was currently in Tampa, Florida at the moment, and it was only just 1:15. "Tired, baby?"

Eric shook his head, standing up, walking slowly around the desk. "Nope. You?"

"Not a bit," she smirked, twisting in her chair to let her fingers play with the belt attached to Eric's jeans, "you know what I feel like doing right now?" She stood up slowly, making sure her chest slid against Eric's until she came to her full height. Eric didn't answer her, just waited for her to make her move, which she did. "I wanna do you."

Without warning, Eric flipped Lauren onto the surface of her desk and inched her skirt up, loosening his belt at the same time. The excited giggle only fueled his desire for her more. "I was thinking the same thing," he rasped out, before latching onto her mouth with his own, giving her a searing, brutal kiss that left her lips raw, red, and slightly numb from the pressure. Not wasting anymore time, Eric ripped away the final barriers from the most sensual area's of their bodies, and buried himself in her to his hilt, making her cry out sharply from the surprise and the pain of it all. Once he started moving in and out of her though, her cries became wild and wanton and she pleaded with him to take her harder, which Eric was all to happy to do.

As Lauren latched onto the table, he pulled her waste just past the edge of the desk, allowing him better access to her heated core, and pulled her towards him as he pumped in and out of her. She was all but crying now, begging for him to allow her her release, and when Eric looked down and saw her fingers rubbing frantically at her clitoris, he flung himself into her savagely. He felt her come around his throbbing manhood, and the added pressure was what finally made him let go. He continued moving in her until the last possible moment**, **and, after what seemed like an eternity, he fell slowly on top of her, his ear over her racing heart, his cock twitching in the aftermath of such an intense joining.

"Did Shane ever make you scream like that?" he whispered roughly. Lauren lifted her head up just enough so that her nearly black eyes would meet his own cloudy ones. "Only when we fought, baby. Only when we fought."

**WWF**

"Come with me to New York."

Jaina paused in the entrance way of the bathroom, toothbrush in her mouth, and looked out at Shane. She glanced at the clock behind his naked form and looked back at him, surprise etched in her face. "Now?" She managed to garble out, before a bit of toothpaste came sliding out of the side of her mouth. Embarrassed, she ran back into the bathroom and spat.

"Yes, now," Shane called, lying on the bed, a sheet barely covering his semi-erection. After the night he and Jaina had last night, there was no way that he wasn't going to wake up in the mood for some more make up sex, "my flight's in two hours, yours' is in an hour and a half-"

"Your dad already took the jet back?"

"He left earlier this morning with Steph," Shane answered, "you'd still have time to change flights. Tuesday mornings are pretty slow for the airlines."

Jaina emerged from the bathroom once more, this time, toothpaste free. "You really want me to spend the week with you?"

Shane nodded.

"I don't even have enough clothes for that though. I mean...well, yes I do. We had the three day tour thing."

"And it's not like you're making a paycheck and couldn't buy some clothes in New York," Shane snorted. "You know what, just for that remark, I'm not going." She laughed out loud when Shane pouted, and Jaina had to forgive him immediately. She made her way over to the bed and climbed atop it, kissing him lightly on the tip of his nose. "Okay, okay, I forgive you. I'll come to New York with you."

"Great!" Shane flipped Jaina down onto the mattress and the room filled with shrieks of laughter as Shane smothered her neck and face with kisses as though he were a puppy being told he could go outside for a walk. "Shane! Get off! We have to get to the airport, I have to change my flight!" She slapped lightly at his back and he finally he stilled, lying on top of her, brushing the hair out of her eyes that had gotten ruffled from his over excited response to her coming home with him. "You should call your dad, tell him you won't be home this week."

"Yea," Jaina's head lulled to the side, looking at the clock, "he's gonna be checking out soon; better get down to his room before he leaves." Taking his que, Shane rolled off of his girl friend and stood up, stretching. But Jaina saw an opportunity to strike, and strike she did, slapping his bare rear end as hard as she could. She nearly fell off the bed herself in laughter as Shane jumped nearly a foot in the air with a most indignant yelp. Frowning at his girlfriend, he pointed at her. "You're lucky I have to take a shower and you have to go talk to your father, otherwise, there'd be a fight in here right now."

"Ohhhhhh," Jaina wiggled her fingers in Shane's direction, feigning fear, "I'm terrified, really. I already beat your ass last night on national television, I don't think there's much you can do to me."

Shane clicked his tongue, sizing her up, then nodded his head, as though thinking better of what he was going to do. "You just wait until you step off the plane at JFK and we get home. Just wait." Jaina stuck her tongue out at him as he closed the door to the bathroom. Then, running a brush through her hair, she undressed, threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and sauntered out of the room, in search of one Stone Cold Steve Austin.

**WWF**

"Dad, I thought you wanted me to go with the Test storyline..." Stephanie's young face was twisted in confusion as she watched her father go through a mountain of paper work on the tray table attached to his seat. Vince pushed up his glasses and looked at his daughter over their rims. "I know we'd talked about it, but I talked with some of the writers, and they actually want to put Andrew in another storyline that I like a lot better for him, but Liz came to me with an idea for you, and I think you're going to like it a lot better than what you would have been doing with Test."

"I dunno about that," Stephanie muttered. Vince raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"I'm all about that!" she replied, grinning cheekily from ear to ear, trying to cover up her earlier grumbling, but Vince wasn't buying it. "I take it we have a bit of a crush on the new kid?"

"I think he's cute if that's what you mean," she answered, "would have been nice to work with him."

"Stephanie, hopefully you're going to figure out very soon here that just because one of the wrestlers is cute does not mean that he is necessarily the best man to work with in a storyline." Vince was admonishing his little girl best he could, but he knew that Stephanie had a good business head on her shoulders. Living the life that she did had afforded her an inside look at how to run the world that Vince was going to leave to her and her brother when it came time for him to retire. It still didn't mean that she didn't act like her age sometimes.

"You're going to be doing something a little different," he announced, shoving his paper work to the side**, **"and it's going to require you to step out of your comfort zone a little bit. We've introduced you, you've stepped into the wrestling world...and now, you're going to start making your mark."

"How?" Stephanie was so confused by this point she had no idea what her father could be planning.

Vince just smiled, leaned back comfortably in his chair, and began to fill in Stephanie on the new role she was going to play.

**WWF**

"There's my baby girl," Steve opened the car door for Jaina as she hopped out into the parking lot of the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit and gave her father a big hug, "how was New York?"

"It was great, Dad. I had a lot of fun, ya shoulda been there." Jaina's smile widened even more as her father's face faltered slightly, looking for all the world like a father who loved his daughter, but who wanted to know none of the details of her last few days with Shane McMahon. Speaking of which...

"Steve," Shane held his hand out for Austin to shake, "good flight in, I hope?"

"Won't too bad, won't too bad...what the hell did ya do to your hair, Jay?"

Jaina grinned. "You don't like it?"

"I didn't say that, I just wanna know what ya did to it." Steve took a few tendrils of Jaina's now dark brown locks in his fingers and twirled them around a bit**. **"I dyed it brown, nearly black, actually, but I wanted to stay in the dark brown area a bit."

"The make up artist talked to her yesterday morning and suggested that she dye it to fit in with the ministry theme," Shane explained, opening up the trunk of his rental car and heaving out both his and Jaina's gear bags, "so, we went out to a salon yesterday, got the dye job done and..." he shrugged, as if to say, 'and you know the rest of the story'.

"Well, it looks good, ya look a bit pale, but I guess that's what ya should look like," Steve mused, "ya'll hungry, ya eaten yet?"

"Nah, we just came straight from the airport. I was just going to get something from catering, unless Jaina wanted to go out?" Shane raised his eyebrows at the woman, but before she could answer, Steve stepped in.

"Ya'll go put your gear inside, I'm takin' ya out to lunch," Steve closed the door of the rental car and fished the keys of his rental truck out from his pocket, "Shane if ya wanna put her stuff in Marks room, it's in the next hall on the right from mine. He's already there, I think."

"Hey Dad, we've got to start at 7pm tonight, right?" Jaina was still inspecting her hair and playing with it. She'd never dyed her hair before, and the new color on her head simply fascinated her.

"Yea, and it's 12:30, so if you want your boyfriend to come along with us, he better hurry up. Vince don't want anybody to be late tonight, especially either three of us."

"Four of us," a voice corrected. Steve and Jaina looked up to see Mark walking behind Shane, and it did not pass Jaina's sight that Shane was visibly apprehensive about the night. She'd tried to get him to talk about it the past few days, but he was having none of it. What was going to go down was going to go down, it was his life, he lived and breathed the business, and what was good for business was what was going to happen.

"Hey Steve, Jaina," Mark nodded his head at the two Austins' and clapped a hand on Shane's back, "relax, McMahon. Let's go eat**, **talk, figure out how things are gonna go tonight...Jaina work the tension out of your man's shoulders will ya?"

As Steve and Mark headed towards Austin's rental truck, Shane and Jaina lagged behind. Jaina took Shane's hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "You alright?"

"Yea," he looked down at her and smiled, squeezing her hand in reassurance, "never been nervous about a show before, ya know?"

"You'll be fine," she promised, "I know you will. I have faith in you." She bit her lip and stopped walking, pulling him to a pause as well. "Are you worried about my thing or your thing? Cause...you know that nothing is going to really happen between me and-"

"I know, I know. I'm worried about my thing, not yours." Shane sighed. "Never had to do it before, ya know?"

"Yea," Jaina gave him a sympathetic look, then tugged him along, hearing her father call for her. "Come on. Let's go eat."

_**WWF**_

A kendo stick in hand, Shane paced the room his family was staying in for the night. He didn't pay attention to the worried looks of his mother or sister, didn't hear their pleas for him to stay with them for the night. He was focused on one thing only; Jaina Austin. Jaina Austin, and getting her back safely in the arms of her father. That was his goal, and he was going to do it that night, if it was the last thing he did.

_**WWF**_

She hated the basement. She hated any lower level of a structure. It was dark, it was creepy, it was damp...and it was frightening. Frightening, not because she was alone, but because she _wasn't_ alone.

Jaina had claimed a small corner as her own and had been sitting there since The Undertaker had led her down into the bowels of the arena. She'd watched the Ministry the entire time, heard their meetings, heard their strategies for different matches. Her ears had particularly perked up when either her father or Shane were mentioned, but The Undertaker would always quickly look over to see if she was listening, either obviously or not, and pipe down the conversation. Jaina might be there willingly, as an end to Vince seeking Shane's allegiance, but she most definitely did not _want_ to be there. Taker knew that at the first chance, she would run, and so he'd had her very carefully guarded since her arrival into his hands.

Jaina's head leaned back and rested against the wall, her hands folding and unfolding against material that was foreign to her. The Undertaker liked black, he liked purple and red, and tonight, for her introduction into her new 'life' so to speak, he'd chosen, for her to wear, a very tight, very short, long sleeved, black vinyl dress. The dress left little to the imagination, as it accentuated her curves, especially her cleavage, and the hemline of the skirt ended about two inches below her back side. The unique thing about her outfit was that, as he deemed her his 'Queen' now, she was to be dressed in the like. As such, there were two clips that were attached to the vinyl clinging to her shoulders to allow a heavy robe to hang there. This left the rather hookerish black boots that he'd given to her. They weren't difficult to walk in, as she'd worn boots like this before, but they also made her legs seem longer.

He'd even had her hair color changed to his liking. Dark, bringing out her icy blue eyes, just as his dark locks brought out his green ones, green eyes filled with a black fire that he'd made her look into as he chanted the vows that officially made her his, and made her reciprocate.

"Your thoughts, my dear..." The Undertaker hovered over her like a black cloud, seeing right through her, no matter how hard she tried to shut him out. "You hate me," he continued, and Jaina didn't even have to look at him to know that he was smiling gleefully. She swallowed and continued to look away from him as he spoke. "You want to see me fall, don't you? You're hoping someone will knock me from my pedestal." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him bend down on one knee, his long hair nearly touching her legs as emerald orbs continued to study her. "You're thinking that your father will come for you tonight...or are you thinking that Shane McMahon will come for you tonight?"

"I'm not thinking that," she finally answered, meeting his steady gaze with one of her own, "I know that." The laugh that escaped his throat was bone chilling to her, and she visibly shivered, closing her eyes as though the heavily coated eye lashes and eye lids would protect her from the devil that was before her.

"You came to me willingly, Jaina Austin. No one is coming for you. And if you try to run," he sneered, his voice taking on the hardest edge that she'd ever heard in her young life, "if you try to run, I will not only find you again, but I will take my vengeance out on your father and the young McMahon. Is that what you want?"

When she didn't answer, she felt his hand wrap around her throat and squeezed, not to tightly, but enough to let her know that he was most definitely in control and could make good on any threat he made to her. _"Is that what you want?"_

Not trusting her voice, Jaina only shook her head slightly, cursing herself for showing her fear of him so visibly.

"That's what I thought," he whispered, leaning in. Jaina didn't have anywhere she could go; her head was still pressed against the concrete, but dammit if she didn't try to meld her body with the hard rock. She closed her eyes, thinking that evil was about consummate their marriage, but his mouth didn't reach what she thought it was it's intended target. Instead, he hovered there, centimeters away, and when she opened her eyes, she steeled herself to look into his face, desperately trying to control a panicked breathing that threatened to become an anxiety attack.

"Not now," was all he said, finally releasing her neck, but allowing his finger to trail down the neck line of her cleavage, "later." He stood up and silently held out his hand, his expression leaving no question of what he expected from her. Equally quiet, Jaina placed her bare hand into his gloved one and arose on her own volition. She had been wrong. Four days ago, she thought she was making the longest walk of her life.

It wasn't until now that she realized the longest walk of her life was going to happen in a matter of minutes.

_**WWF**_

It was strange, walking out to the ring without her father or Shane beside her. In their place was The Undertaker, and the members of the Ministry. They were closed in around her specifically, in case she tried to make a break for it. But Jaina had no intention of doing so. Doing that would mean putting Shane in danger, and that was the whole reason she'd wanted so desperately to beat him in the match they'd had, so he would be _out_ of danger. She wasn't so worried about her father; that man was a one man army, he'd taken out at least half the ministry by himself, but she wasn't about to give her father any more trouble than he already had. As she ducked under the ropes and allowed once more for The Phenom to guide her into the center of the ring, she hoped, with everything in her, that neither of the two men she'd previously been thinking about would do anything rash.

"As you can see, everything last Monday night went my way," The Undertaker boasted, nodding in Jaina's direction, and she closed her eyes. She didn't want to see or hear anymore. She felt cold, clammy fingers touch her face and it was all she could do not to pull away; she knew if she did, she would feel the repercussions in the basement later, "I have the great prize of the WWF. I have Austin's daughter; you all saw it, she came with me willingly last Monday night, just as she promised she would. More than that, I am the World Heavyweight Champion...I've taken everything from Austin that matters in his life. Everything I said would happen, did happen. I told everyone that I would become the champion, and I did. I told everyone that I would throw the McMahon family into chaos, and I did. I even told Vince McMahon last Monday night, as we waited for the match between his son Shane..." he looked down at Jaina, who continued, to toy with the leather of her robe, "and my new queen to be finished, that I would indeed have this woman by my side at the end of the night."

Taker stepped back slightly, as did the Ministry, and allowed the attention to be focused on a very small looking and defeated Jaina, who could feel the crown looking at her and immediately summoned up the courage to look back at them, defiance in her eyes all the way.

"Of course," Taker ambled behind the young woman, looking her up and down, and that action sent Jaina's skin crawling. It was like she was now mentally and physically connected to this man, and he to her. He knew what she was thinking, what she was feeling, every single moment. She couldn't get away from him if she wanted to. "Of course, there were a few...adjustments I needed her to make, and as you can see...like an obedient queen who loves her lord, she has made these changes. And it pleases me." His hand touched her cheek and Jaina couldn't help but move away. She heard his soft laughter through the microphone, and the chuckles and sneers of those in the Ministry. They loved this; they were getting off on it.

"She is still shy when it comes to showing her Master affection publicly. But don't worry, Jaina, oh, don't worry-"

_**WWF**_

Taker was cut off by a very livid Austin slamming into him from behind, almost knocking his daughter to the ground with The Undertaker, but the girl caught herself before her head plowed into the mat. She was vaguely aware of her father taking out his frustration on The Undertaker, and she took her opportunity to try and make an escape. However, Farooq and Bradshaw were to quick for her, and before she was half way through the bottom rope, they each grabbed a leg and yanked her back in, Jaina struggling, kicking, and punching the whole way until they forced her into one of the corners and made her watch as The Undertaker gained the upper hand.

But the Phenom stopped short; instead, he ordered his minions to grab a hold of Austin while he took hold of the microphone once again.

"Austin...you seem to be confused. She's here of her own free will, she serves me because _she_ has decided to leave the light and come to the Lord of Darkness." He stepped back slowly, watching Austin with a sneer on his face as he made his way backwards to the corner in which Jaina was being held in. "You're here of your own free will, am I correct, my dear?"

To be completely honest, Jaina was to frightened to answer. It was all she could do to not look at The Undertaker. Instead, she chose to focus on her father; she'd always gathered strength from him, and tonight was a night where she would need all the will power she could get. Especially now, when The Undertaker was as intimidating as he ever was. Not for the first time, she found herself wishing she had run when Shane had told her to do so. But she knew if she didn't answer Taker's question with the answer he wanted, Steve Austin would get the beating of his life, and she would have to watch, knowing that she wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. So she meekly nodded her head. Actually, it was more the fearful tremors that made her head nod in affirmation.

"That's what I thought," Taker placed a cold, clammy hand on her cheek and led her out of the corner.

Right in front of her father.

"I think it's time we made our union official, don't you?" The Undertaker, whose hand had been cupping her cheek, now slipped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him, so close that her nose was almost touching his. Jaina had just enough time to think _Oh God... _before the Dark Lord covered her mouth with his in a bruising, vile, possessive kiss. But she felt something...something strange...it was small, minuscule, but it was there. A need for...more?

It was over as quickly as it began, and Jaina pushed herself away from The Undertaker, her hands over her mouth in disgust. She didn't have a chance to analyze the emotions that she felt because almost immediately after the kiss was broken, she heard The Undertaker give the order to assault Austin. When she tried to go to her father, when she tried to protect him, The Undertaker blocked her path and dragged her out of the ring and up the ramp. The entire time, she got to witness a brutal beating, and the man that had put himself there, her father, the man she idolized her entire life was at the receiving end of it.

_**WWF**_

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

Jaina wheeled on Taker as soon as they got back stage. "You have me, you have what you want, you didn't have to do that!"

"On the contrary, my dear." Taker stood over her, a mass of self confidence, a look of absurdness on his dark face. "What I-what _we _did out there...that wasn't just to _consummate_ our union." He continued to advance on her, until Jaina was backed against wall, with no where to go. "You felt something, didn't you? I could see it in your eyes when you pulled away...you felt the darkness begin to take route." His finger trailed her jaw line gently, and he was the epitome of control at the moment. "Soon, you won't be able to help what you do for me, what you do _with_ me...you will be all too willing to do what ever I order you to do, and that is something I am going to enjoy very, v_ery_ much."

For the first time since she came into his possession, The Undertaker left her alone. Completely. No ministry members around to guard her, no Paul Bearer left shrieking in her ear...she was completely alone.

Forming a fist with her hand, she punched the wall behind her and pushed herself off, heading down the hallway, her robe trailing behind her as she went.

_**WWF**_

"Shane, please, _please_, don't go out there tonight, please, I am begging you!" Stephanie, for about the tenth time in the past hour, was on her knees, pleading with her brother to drop the kendo stick. She'd resorted to tears by now. Her mother had left the room about 20 minutes previously, no longer able to take the threats and admonitions her son was spewing from his mouth. "Please, Shane, please, for my sake, for mom's sake, please don't go out there, it's just what he wants!"

Shane wasn't even hearing his sisters plea's. Honestly, he didn't even notice that she was in the room. He was in his own world, a world where he kept seeing himself beating The Undertaker and the entire Ministry senseless with the kendo stick he now held in his hand. When a knock came at the door, Stephanie ceased her crying enough to answer it. It was a crew member, and he didn't try to get into the door to give his message.

"Hey, my manager told me to come tell Mr. McMahon that Jaina Austin was looking for him."

That was enough to snap Shane out of his mesmerizing pacing, and he came to the door in a flash, standing behind his sister. "What?"

"All I know is that Jaina Austin is walking around, she's looking for you, Sir," he stated again, actually stepping back a bit at the intensity in the young man's eyes, "the-the last anyone saw her they said she was out around the receiving lot for the super stars."

Hearing enough, Shane pushed Stephanie and the crew member aside and stalked out of the room, kendo stick in hand, not paying attention to his little sister as she begged him, one more time, to stay with her.

_**WWF**_

"Jaina!" Shane looked wildly around the receiving lot of the arena, hoping to see the blonde head that he'd become so fond of seeing poking up from behind one of the many cars and limo's in the parking lot. So when someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind, he whipped around quickly, kendo stick up and ready for use, but he was so stunned at who looked back at him that he nearly dropped the weapon.

"Jaina..." he lowered the stick, staring at the young woman, so changed, that stood before him. Her hair was no longer pure and blonde, her clothing was something that she most certainly would not choose to wear for herself. She was dressed as though she were a princess...a dark princess. She looked back at him, sorrow and shame in her eyes. "My God, what has he done to you?"

"I don't have much time," she responded, "I didn't know where you were, so I told someone to find you and-"

"Yea, yea, they found me, come on," Shane reached for her hand, "I'm gonna get you out of here."

"Shane, no, you can't!" Jaina pulled away from him almost immediately. "You can't." Her heart nearly broke at the look on his face, the confusion, the anger, the fear that was there, but she couldn't put him in danger too. "The Undertaker won't stop looking for me, you know that. I can't go with you, but there's something you should know, there's something I have to tell you before-before I won't be able to."

She swallowed and continued, forcing the lump in her throat down so she could speak clearly. "The Undertaker...when we were in the ring, he...he kissed me. I didn't want him to, but he did...and, and Shane, I felt something, something...something dark, something evil, like a permanent connection had been made between me and him."

"Jaina, what are you talking about?"

"When we got back stage, he told me that there was another reason why he wanted to do that, and it wasn't just for the purpose of making our...our _marriage_, if that's what you want to call it, official." She took a breath, knowing that if she rushed through this, it wasn't going to make much sense to Shane. "He said that when-when he kissed me, a seed of darkness had been planted. It's taking route, and...and Shane, when he kissed me, something inside of me wanted _more_. He told me that he knew I'd felt it and pretty soon, I won't be able to resist him. What ever spell he's put on me, it's going to take control and...and I just wanted you to know that..."

"Then Jaina, let me do this," Shane dropped the stick and grabbed her arms, "let me put you in my car and drive you away from the arena. If you're not here, he can't get to you-"

But Jaina was having none of it. As much as she didn't want to, she had to put her hands on Shane's shoulders and try to push him away from her, but he was much stronger than she. It was a stale mate; his hands wrapped around her arms, her hands resting on a broad chest that she just wanted to hide her head in. "He can get to me, that's what you don't understand, Shane. What ever he did to me, it took effect when he kissed me." She shook her head sadly at him, seeing no hope for her situation. "I can't go with you. You'd be in danger, and not even from The Undertaker, but maybe from me...and I won't do that to you."

"Jaina, you won't do anything. You wouldn't hurt me, you wouldn't hurt anyone, you're stronger than what ever it was he put on you." Before he knew what he was doing, Shane's hands moved from her arms up to her face, cupping her cheeks in his palms. "You _can_ beat this, Jaina. Let me help you." It was as close to her face as he'd ever gotten, and even with the dark make up that surrounded her eyes, he was losing himself in the face that he remembered, the blonde tendrils that bounced around her head when she walked, the spirited blue eyes that were always so full of an icy fire, the face that was usually devoid of the caked on make up that was there now.

It was that mesmerization that was his downfall. And Jaina's. Neither of them saw Vicsera, Gangrel, or Mideon emerge from behind the various cars, but both of them definitely felt it when Mideon pulled them away from each other, shoving Jaina into the body of a very tall, very well leathered man. She felt a hand grip her throat and knew that it was The Undertaker. She was caught between trying free herself from her 'Masters' grasp and trying to help Shane best as she could.

"So willful...maybe too willful," Taker caressed a quivering chin. He didn't seem to notice the fear seeping from Jaina's blue eyes as he pushed her toward Shane, and to Jaina's surprise, even though they had knocked McMahon around a couple of times, he didn't look any worse for the wear. "Perhaps a sacrifice just for you, will help you to cooperate with me..."

"No...no, no!" Jaina shrieked at the top of her lungs, her cries mixing with that of Shane's efforts to get away as they were both dragged back into the arena and towards the ring area.

When she was pushed out on the entrance stage, Jaina saw the worst thing she could have possibly seen; Vince McMahon standing next to one of The Undertakers symbols, a grin on his face that could have lit up all of Detroit and the surrounding areas.

Shane, upon seeing the symbol, knew what was about to happen to him, and he didn't know which he was nervous about more; being hoisted up 30 feet on a steel ornament or his father at the moment. Once his wrists were pressed towards the cold, unforgiving metal though, he quickly decided that perhaps he ought to be afraid of the former and not the latter. "Son of a bitch! Don't you dare let him do this to me, don't you dare!"

Vince just smiled and shrugged, standing back, letting his ministry, his little servants, do as The Undertaker instructed. "You should have just joined me willingly, Son, then none of this would have ever happened!"

"You're sick!" Jaina screamed, still trying to kick herself away from her captor, "you're absolutely sick!" Suddenly, her neck snapped back, and she found that once again, she was staring into the serpentine eyes of the Lord of Darkness. "Don't," she pleaded with him, before he took her in a kiss once more, this one more passionate and possessive than the first one they shared. Somewhere, in the dark recesses of her mind, that flare of need sprang up again, stronger this time, but her willful nature quickly squashed it, replaced with the horrible realization that the one man she wished was standing behind her, kissing her, consuming her, was hanging above her, and though he was closer to heaven than she was, she was very quickly coming to one all important realization.

They, she, Jaina Austin, and he, Shane McMahon, were both in Hell, together, but seperately.


	9. The Road to King of the Ring

1**WWF**

"Shane, you okay?"

Stephanie walked into the trainers room, Jaina trailing hot behind as both the men in her life were back there at the moment. Her father was getting stitches in his head, due to a rather nicely landed punch to the forehead earlier in the night by Mideon. Shane on the other hand, was not being treated for any obvious injuries. Instead, he was sitting on one of the medic tables, an oxygen mask held close to his mouth by his hand. He took a moment to glance up at his sister and nodded his head before he went back to breathing in and out slowly and methodically.

"Dad?" Jaina sat down next to her father, grimacing some what as the on call surgeon was busy stitching up the last bits of an angry, red wound on Austin's forehead. "I'm okay, baby girl, just a scratch."

"Mmmhmmm...I've had 'just scratches' before. None of them ever required stitches." None the less, Jaina silenced herself, resigned to watching the medic patch her father up for a few more minutes before turning her attention to Shane. He was slightly pale, not that Shane had had much of a tan to begin with, but none the less, he'd lost some of the pigmentation due to a slight fear of heights. Not fear of heights so much as a fear of being suspended from the ground.

"You faced your fear tonight, congratulations," she smiled, kissing him delicately on the forehead just before Vince walked in the room. "There's my boy." Vince was grinning ear to ear, obviously a very proud father at present. No father ever liked to see their son afraid of anything, and it had been Vince that gave the push Shane needed to conquer his phobia. "How about next week, we do it again?"

Shane raised his eyes and give Vince a silent look of 'thanks, but no thanks', taking care to continue breathing in and out at regular intervals from the oxygen mask.

"Oh, Jaina," Vince pulled Jaina off to the side a bit, "look, you and Mark, fantastic job out there tonight, really great, really great. Think you can keep it up until King of the Ring?"

"Definitely," Jaina nodded, crossing her arms, "I'm actually having fun with this role...weird as that is, I mean, I'm pretty much a slave." Vince just shrugged. The evil role was no stranger to him, obviously, and he loved playing a character in the ring. It was a great way to just relieve stress, have fun, and give the people a show, give them their monies worth. "As long as you're having fun, you're doing something right. It's when the fun stops that we need to have the conversation."

Jaina chuckled. "Well, that won't be any time soon, I can promise you that."

"Glad to hear it." Vince patted her arm then headed over to Austin, checking with him and the medic on his condition. After a handshake and a good night, Vince left the four stars alone, and shortly after, the trainer finished his work, gave Steve some instructions on how to care for the wound, and left to care for any other wrestlers that were in need of medical attention at the moment.

"Dad, you're off until Smackdown! next week right?"

"Yea," Austin leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, "it's in the script. I'll have some photo shoots to go to, a new video recording session, couple interviews...think I'm on the Today show too."

"Wow, somebody's a super star," Stephanie admired, "don't worry, Jaina. Shane's gonna be out for the next week too, so it's gonna be all you."

"Yea, what's this I hear about you getting a storyline that's not with Test?" Shane wondered aloud, looking at his baby sister. But Stephanie, who had promised her father that she wouldn't tell anyone, not even her brother, about the new role that she was going to start playing in a few weeks, simply shook her head, a sweet smile on her face. "Nope. Can't tell you, bro."

"Damn confidentiality contracts," he grumbled back, finally putting down the oxygen mask and leaning back on the make shift medical cot, closing his eyes, "he's gonna tell me later anyway."

But Stephanie just shrugged. "Then wait till later. You need get some rest anyways, Shane-o. You shouldn't have to much excitement in one night."

"Yea I guess you-what? Why would I get excited?" He glanced at Jaina and Austin and was just about ready to start interrogated his little sister when Mark walked in the room. "How ya doin' kid?"

"I'm breathing," Shane answered, keeping his eyes on Stephanie, who took that moment to slip out of the room, waving good bye cheekily to her brother, "yea, that's right, go on and leave, but you're not getting out of this conversation so easily. I know where you live!" Stephanie's laughter echoed back into the room, and all Shane could do was look at Mark and Steve. "She's not afraid of me anymore. She doesn't even idolize me anymore."

"Oh my God, give me a break," Jaina said in mock disgust, shaking her head, "you guys have your boy moment. Dad, I'll go pack your stuff up, okay?"

"Alright, baby girl," Austin pecked his daughter on the cheek then sent her Shane's way. "Hey, find out what her story line is will you?" The pitiful, puppy dog look that Shane gave her was to much for Jaina and she couldn't help but let out a giggle.

"Okay," Jaina readily agreed, but Shane narrowed his eyes. "Then come back and tell me."

"Hmm, I think not, but when she tells me, I won't tell anyone else either!" Wagging her fingers good bye, Jaina sauntered out the door, leaving the three men in the trainers room, looking at each other with sarcastic amusement. Steve took that moment to glance over at Shane. "Trust me when I tell ya, it don't get any better."

While Mark laughed, Shane groaned and lay back further on the cot, closing his eyes.

**WWF**

"Shawn, Paul, come on in," Vince stood up behind his desk and extended his hand as the two original members of D-Generation X entered his Stanford, Connecticut Office Friday morning, "hope the flight was alright?"

"Yea, great," Shawn and Paul both shook their boss's hand and sat down in the very comfortable chairs that were provided for them.

"So, basically, our ratings are up, and a lot of that is due to the Ministry story line that we're running, the Austin/McMahon rivalry that's been happening for the past two years or so, and DX has been in there some, but I want them in there more."

"Actually, Vince," Shawn leaned foward, "Hunter and I have been talking about that a bit. We have some idea's if you want us to run them by you."

"By all means." Vince sat back. "Basically, what I want is this; Lauren McCabe is running WCW now, you both remember her, I assume?"

"The slut Shane was dating? Yea, I remember her," Hunter laughed, rubbing his chin, "caught her in my dressing room after a match tryin' to come on to me."

"Anyways," Shawn gave his best friend a meaningful look, "yes, we both remember her."

"Well, she's the General Manager for Nitro and Thunder, and Lauren isn't the kind of woman that takes the subtle route. She's very in your face." Hunter couldn't hold back a snort, but after another silencing look from Shawn, he quieted down, and Vince continued. "I want you to take the fight to WCW. I want you to take it right to them, right to their front door."

Hunter blinked. "Like, their front door in Atlanta?"

"Atlanta, Nitro, Thunder...where ever a show happens to be at that point, you take it to them. I don't care how you do it, and you will have my full legal backing in case Ms. McCabe decides to get a little bitchy...and she does tend to do that." Vince tapped his fingers lightly on the table, looking back and forth between Shawn and Hunter. "Think you can do that?"

"Oh we can do it," Hunter nodded his head, looking at Shawn. This was what they loved to do, this was what they excelled at, and after having years of practice making their own boss's hair gray, they had gotten pretty damn good at it. "Where's their next show at?"

"Well, unless you want to completely miss a live show of RAW, they're not going to be anywhere near us until the Monday after King of the Ring, which frankly, I'd rather do it then. We've just had a big pay per view, more people will be watching, and we can start off a new saga fresh rather than introduce it in the middle of one of the story lines we have now." Vince picked up his phone and dialed his secretary, asking her to get him a listing of all the Nitro and Thunder shows that were going to be occurring in the next three months. Soon afterwards, she walked back in, a few printed out sheets clutched in her hand which she handed off to the Chairman of the WWF. After asking him if he needed anything else, she quickly vacated the office and shut the door softly behind her.

Vince looked over the papers at the two stars in front of him, then, handed them the papers. "Get your schedules, compare them, choose the sites you want. If you want to miss a show to do this, that's fine, I have no problem with that. We just have to make sure that we have footage of you and the rest of DX 'invading', so to speak, to show our fans on a RAW or Smackdown! night."

McMahon sat back once more and folded his hands over his lap. "Think you can do this?"

"Oh, we can do this," Shawn assured, standing up, Hunter following suit. "Just keep your legal team on stand-by, will ya?" Vince also stood up and reached out to shake the hands of his employee's once more. "With you and Hunter being let loose? You damn right I'll keep the legal team on stand by. Have a good flight home gentlemen. I'll see you this Monday."

**WWF**

For the next few weeks, the WWF saw shows like they hadn't seen before. Raw and Smackdown! were slowly, but surely, inching up in the ratings, thanks to Commissioner Stone Cold Steve Austin and Chairman of the Board Vince McMahon vying for control of the WWF, along with both Austin and Shane McMahon trying every thing they could think of, albeit, separately, to retrieve Jaina from the clutches of the Undertaker.

Jaina was having a blast herself. With each passing week, she was falling more and more under the control of the Undertaker. She was no longer fighting him, no longer shrinking away from him or avoiding his hand when ever it caressed her paler by the day face. It was fun, in a bizarre kind of way, to play that kind of a roll. It wasn't that she was a damsel in distress, it was more along the line that Jaina was having to show the emotional struggle that she was going through, and she had to do it at certain, key points. For example, that previous Monday's RAW saw Shane, once again, trying to concoct some sort of plan to get Jaina out of Taker's hands, but not only did Jaina not go with him, when Shane reached for her, she slapped him.

That was how RAW had ended, and Smackdown! was going to begin no better. Both Austin and his daughter were still discussing the script as they pulled into the Sheraton parking lot at the Jerome Schottenstein Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Or rather, Jaina was talking about the script. Steve had just been listening from the airport all the way to the arena, which granted, wasn't very far. But he'd also spent the last two days listening to his daughter worry, the plane ride listening to Jaina vocally squirm, and now, he was just about reaching the edge of his rope.

"Dad, I really don't think I can do this," Jaina mumbled, getting out of the truck and walking into the hotel with her father. Austin stayed silent, getting his room key and waiting for Jaina to get hers and Shane's before leading the way to the elevator. Mercifully, his daughter had clammed up a bit, allowing Steve's temper to subside somewhat. Jaina had a way of knowing when she was pushing him a bit to far, and she seemed to have gotten the hint that possibly, maybe, she should stay silent for a moment or two.

They got off the elevator and Steve walked towards his room, opening the door when he got there and holding it for his daughter before he pushed it closed and dropped his luggage and gear. He didn't move, save for putting his hands on his hips and regarding his daughter carefully, thankful that she simply allowed him to appraise her.

"I'm not gonna pretend to understand what you're goin' through," he started out, slowly walking her way. "But you gotta understand one thing, and that is, this is entertainment. That's all this is. This is the business, this right here. You're never gonna get away from it. There's gonna be a lot of things that you don't think you can do, but when push comes to shove, you're gonna be able to do 'em. And I know you, Jaina; you can do this." He stopped in front of her, their matching eyes locked on one another.

"You're my _father_."

"No. I'm Stone Cold Steve Austin, and you're Jaina Austin, and you're under the control of The Undertaker." Austin sat down on the bed and shrugged. "It's as simple as that. If ya make it more complicated, the people ain't gonna believe it." Jaina didn't have anything to say to that, but dammit if she wasn't trying to figure out something retort.

"Go to your room, Jay," Steve stood up from the bed and rested a hand on his daughters shoulder. "Relax, take a nap before the show tonight, wait for Shane...and when the time comes, you better do it, and ya better do it right, cause I'll know if ya don't." With that, he headed over to the door and opened it, watching her as she made her way, slowly and reluctantly out of the room, taking her bags with her.

_This is ridiculous_ she mused to herself, making her way up one more floor via the elevator before arriving at her and Shane's room in the hotel. Once she was in the room, she shoved her things to the wall and flopped on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. She had the courage to do a lot of things. No one could call Jaina Austin a coward. But it wasn't even being called a coward that she was afraid of. It was disappointing her father that scared her to death. He had a lot riding on her success, on her willingness to do what needed to be done to beat WCW in the Monday Night Wars. His name was on the line with Vince McMahon, his reputation was on the line with the WWF Board...

**WWF**

"Workin' hard or hardly workin'?"

"Working hard," Stephanie answered without missing a beat, not taking her eyes off the script or the run sheet that was in front of her, "but I like it, so it's not really working at all I guess."

Mark Calaway plopped down in the seat across from the young brunette, a frosty mug of beer in his hand. As Stephanie continued to work, he glanced around at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel. It was nice, but wasn't really his style. A little too bright with the reds and beige coloring, a bit to modern in its architecture. To be honest, the only reason Mark chose to stay at these hotels was because he had the money to do so and the rest of his wrestling buddies would stay there as well. He liked being around his friends, he liked the bonding that happened between all the wrestlers before, during, and after the matches. The eating, drinking, and occasional outings after shows were worth paying a few extra bucks to stay in a lavish hotel such as this.

All kidding aside however, Mark would have been just as happy at a Motel 8 for $50 a night.

"You know, you're much to young to always be working," he mused, watching Stephanie's bright blue eyes crinkle in concentration at the material she was reading. The girl was only 22 years old. She'd be 23 in September, and she'd just graduated college, and here she was, working for her father in a business that she'd grown up in all her life, sitting in a spiffy hotel restaurant, creative papers, scripts, and run sheets spread out in front of her.

"I don't look at it as work," she repeated, finally setting some of the papers aside and leaning back to address Mark, "this is fun for me. I've wanted to do this all my life, ever since I sat on Andre's lap when I was four years old..." she noticed Mark chuckling quietly, an amused expression on his face. "What?"

"Nothin'."

"No, really, what?"

Mark regarded the young woman in front of him. He'd known her since she was about 14 or 15 years old, and it was hard to believe that the slightly tom boyish, Daddy's girl was sitting before him now as a smart, savvy, business woman. "You're just like Vince, that's all."

Stephanie smiled. "Good. I'll take that as a compliment." She glanced at the bar and raised her hand, asking the tender to come over. "May I have a glass of red wine please? What ever's open is fine."

"Steph, it's 3:00pm."

She arched an eyebrow and pointed at his mug. "That doesn't seem to stop you."

"You know, you didn't used to have that much of a mouth," Mark grumbled, picking up his drink and taking a sip, "I remember when you were to shy to talk to any body when you came to the events." Stephanie shrugged. "I talked to the other diva's; they were always cool, but...I don't know, I was never really that good at talking to guys."

Mark cocked his head to the side. "You don't seem to have any trouble now."

"Yea, well, I don't have Dad and Shane breathing down my neck as much anymore either-thanks." Stephanie smiled at the bartender and took a sip of the wine, taking a moment to enjoy the flavor as it rolled over her tongue.

"Ah," Mark nodded knowingly, "Ole Vince and Shane-o-mac didn't want you to suddenly run off with a dirty, sweaty, smelly wrestler, is that it?"

"That about sums it up, yes," Stephanie was enjoying this conversation, and she allowed herself to relax fully by slouching in the chair slightly and crossing her legs underneath the table. "Though 'Vince' didn't seem to whisper any of those warnings to Shane."

"Do I hear a little sibling jealousy in your voice, Steph?" Mark jokingly asked. She just smiled at shrugged. "No. I love Jaina. I've known her for a couple of years, didn't really get to know her well until she came onto the roster, but I'm glad Shane and she are together. I don't think she knows what an affect she has on him..."

Mark waited for Stephanie to continue, but when she didn't, he gave her a little nudge. "Lauren McCabe?"

"Yea..." The brunette shook her head sadly. "Shane didn't show it much around the house shows or the pay per views or the other events. When he was at work, he was at work. But no one will ever know how much that bitch hurt him. Not even Mom and Dad know how bad it got." She fiddled with the base of her wine glass, eyes intent on her fingers that circled the bottoms edge.

"I take it you didn't talk to anybody about it much," Mark inferred, offering himself as a confidant if she so needed. This was one of the big things with the McMahon Family, this was what made them a Clan; what happened in the family, nine times out of ten, stayed within the family. They were entertainment royalty. They knew how and when to put on the pretty face, and all of them did that very, very well.

"After she left him, Shane spent two weeks at my apartment, in my guest bed room, drinking, crying, and throwing up." Stephanie's blue eyes welled up with tears at the mere memory. "He actually took _vacation_. Shane's like my father, he never takes vacation. But, Mom and Dad didn't think anything of it. After what Lauren did to my brother, they actually encouraged him to take some time off, and he did."

"They just didn't know how 'off' he really was," Mark traced his jaw with a finger, finally beginning to get the picture of just how down and out Shane had really been when he'd lost Lauren, and not just to any guy, but the man that was the head of their number one competition. "Where did Shane tell them he was going?"

"He didn't," Stephanie shook her head, "he just said he was going to go somewhere warm, where he didn't have to think about Lauren at all...where he wouldn't be reminded of her." She unraveled a napkin and dabbed at her eyes carefully, not wanting to streak the mascara. "So that left out the family house in Connecticut and the house down in Fort Lauderdale, because Lauren had been both places before. But she'd never been to my apartment in Boston. Had actually never been to Boston as far as I know. So...he came to me."

Mark waited for Stephanie to compose herself, feeling like he should be twiddling his thumbs. He hated to see a woman cry for any reason, and Stephanie had always held a special place in his heart for as long as he'd known her. "Well, he's definitely not doing any drinking now," he leaned back in his chair slightly, his mug in his hand, "I didn't know he was doing all that when she left him, but he was definitely off on some nights during a show. Quiet, didn't want to talk to any body...there was a couple of nights he didn't even want to perform."

"Yea, I know," Stephanie placed the napkin on the table and took a sip of wine, clearing her throat after swallowing, "and Mark, please don't tell anyone that I said anything about this. I probably shouldn't have even told you, but if Mom and Dad found out-"

Mark held up a hand, and Stephanie fell silent, a grateful smile on her lips. "Don't worry about it, Steph. I'm not gonna breathe a word to anyone." With Stephanie's mind a little lighter, she settled into a nice conversation with Mark, showing him some of the scripts that were handed down to her by the creative department, and going over various angles and strategies to employ with him.

**WWF**

"Jay?"

Shane shook his girl friend awake gently, brushing her brown strands out of her hair. "Jay, come on, we've got a call." He waited for her to open her eyes, watched her glance at the clock, and then look up at him, tired and worried blue eyes blinking. "I don't think I can do it, Shane."

"Hey, I thought we talked about this," he sat down next to her, a comforting hand on her back, "I thought you were okay."

"I was, and then I started thinking about it more, and...I just..." she shrugged, shaking her head as she sat up, staring at the floor, "it's making me sick, you know?"

"Yea." Shane felt for her, he really did. He remembered a storyline that his father and he did about a year back, where Shane had to verbally assault Vince just after giving Austin his job back. Some of the things that came out of his mouth Shane would have never said, wouldn't have even dreamed of, because they weren't true. But he'd done it, because it was what his father expected of him, and Vince knew that Shane didn't mean anything of what was written. Father and Son had a long sit down at the request of Shane because the speech unnerved him so.

"Look, let's talk about it on the way to the arena, alright?" He stood up and reached for her hand, helping her up. "Go get dressed. I'll get your stuff together."

Shane bent to give her a gentle, reassuring kiss on her mouth before stepping back and getting her bags and clothes together, leaving Jaina to freshen up and change her outfit before they both left the hotel room, silently, Shane holding Jaina's hand tightly in comfort and support all the way to the arena.

_**WWF**_

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Smackdown! We're coming to you from the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus Ohio, and we are just three days out from King of the Ring!" J.R.'s voice, which was usually loud, boisterous, full of excitement and anticipation, was none of those things right now. The reason was standing before him, in the ring. A suit clad Shane McMahon was waiting for the crowd to quiet down so he could speak, and he wanted as little noise as possible.

"King, Shane McMahon, this entire day, has been...well, he's been very un-McMahon like. He's been quiet, he's kept to himself. It's obvious that Shane is very hurt and I'd go so far as to say angry by the actions of Jaina Austin last Monday night, even though she really doesn't have much of choice in what she does."

"Yea, I mean, the girl's got a weak mind, she's under the control of the Undertaker, under some kind of spell of his, why Shane would want to waste his time with this girl, I've got no clue."

"Well, I guess we're about to find out; looks like Shane is ready to address us and, for that matter, The Undertaker and his father."

_**WWF**_

"You know, all my life, I've idolized my father," Shane looked at all the fans that surrounded the arena, gathering a kind of strength from him for what he wanted to say, "all my life, I wanted to be just like him. I wanted that power, that prestige, I wanted to be able to walk down the street and hear people say, 'hey, there's Shane McMahon, don't mess with him', and I can honestly say, I still want that. I want people to realize that when you screw me over, I don't care who you are, you're going to pay, and you're going to pay dearly."

"And Dad, that includes you," Shane continued, turning his attention to the entrance ramp, "last Monday night, when you and the Undertaker instructed Jaina to slap me, and yea, I know you told her to do it, because I saw you whisper to her just before she was going to reach for my hand and let me take her away from you, but last Monday night, when she slapped me..." Shane lowered the mic for a moment needing to compose himself. That was when he heard the fans start to chant his nick name, and he was able to look up after a moments, smile, and continue on.

"Dad, you should know, you should know better than anyone else; you don't screw with a McMahon. So, I want you to come out here right now, because I think I have an idea that's gonna settle this once and for all."

_**WWF**_

"Oh God, what is he doing?" Stephanie sat, eyes glued to her monitor as her brother stood in the ring, waiting for their father to go out and meet him, as Shane had requested. Her hands were wrung as tight as they'd ever been, and she couldn't quell the nerve that was beginning to knot in her stomach.

What was happening to her family?

_**WWF**_

Luckily for Stephanie, it was not Vince McMahon who made his way out to the ring, but Stone Cold Steve Austin, who, in his normal style, stopped out to glass breaking all over the arena. As he hopped in the ring, he didn't bother to go to the turnbuckles and enjoy the praise and love that the fans had for him. Instead, he went immediately towards the ring announcer side and signaled for a microphone, turning around once he was in possession of one to address Shane.

"You know...I don't know what it is with you and my daughter," Steve stalked like a lion around it's prey, glaring at Shane with the eyes of a rattlesnake, "I've been tryin' for weeks to make that girl listen to reason, but _eh, eh, _she ain't havin' none of it!"

"She's drugged!" Shane shouted, something that Austin either didn't hear or chose to ignore.

"But here's the way I look at it, this is how Stone Cold Steve Austin sees it! The stars have aligned, Shane-o Mac," Austin stopped in front of Shane, very close to his face, and ordinarily, the younger man would have stepped back, but not this time. He was done with letting Austin intimidate him, especially when it came to his daughter. "Cause it looks like, for the moment, that you and Stone Cold Steve Austin are on the same page! That don't mean I trust ya, it don't mean that I respect ya, and it sure as hell don't mean that I like ya, but it does mean, that for right now, you and I have the same enemy. What was it that Jaina said? The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

Shane looked warily at the Rattlesnake, but he couldn't help but nod his head. That phrase was what had started this whole road for him in the first place. He was about to answer Austin verbally, but he was cut off by none other than the music of the Corporate Ministry, the Ministry of Darkness. Luckily it was only Vince McMahon and the Undertaker, or so Austin and Shane thought, but when they walked out further, both could see the woman that meant so much to the both of them.

Dressed in a one piece, halter cat suit that looked to be all leather was Jaina, walking steadfastly and loyally beside the Lord of Darkness, and the look on her face was unbelievable. Steve, in all the years of raising her, had never seen such hatred in her pure blue orbs before, and even Shane couldn't believe the amount of loathing that emanated from the young lady as she followed the Undertaker and Vince McMahon into the ring. And to make matters more interesting, much to Austin and Shane's surprise, it was Jaina that took the microphone that Vince was holding in his hand.

For a few moments, all Jaina did was give a silent appraisal of both men, her cold eyes raking over the both of them. The most interesting thing was that since Jaina had been taken by the Undertaker, there were very few times that anyone had heard her speak, and so her voice was nearly unrecognizable when she spoke for the first time in a few weeks.

"Who do you think you are?" Shane visibly winced at the raspy, almost serpent like sound that hissed through Jaina's mouth. "Both of you have been walking around here, making demands these past few weeks, trying to make my decisions for me. If I didn't want to be with The Undertaker, The Lord of Darkness, my master...I wouldn't be standing here at his side."

Taker and Vince were more than a little amused by this statement and were obvious in their feeling as they smirked and laughed at the looks on Shane and Austin's face. Shane, for his part, licked his lips nervously. He knew that Jaina was being controlled, but he never thought he'd hear those words from her mouth. "Jaina, look, you have to understand, this isn't you. These clothes, this hair...that voice, my God..._none_ of this is you. You're under some kind of spell by the Undertaker, don't you realize that?"

But Jaina didn't seem phased by the pleading brown eyes that tried to pierce her soul. Sure, she remembered something about not wanting to be with The Undertaker at first, but she'd come to the decision that he wasn't so bad after all. He treated her like a Queen, anything she wanted she had. All she had to do was snap her fingers, and it was delivered.

"I am under no spell, Shane. Yes, I admit, at first, I was nervous about being this man's Queen. What woman wouldn't be? I constantly asked myself, am I going to measure up, will he be pleased with me, what I say to him..." a sultry smirk wrapped itself on her lips, "what I do _to_ him?" Her grin got wider as the shocked expressions on both Shane and her fathers face grew. "And you, Father, what are you doing out here any way? Shane seems to think I'm under some kind of spell, and he's been out here week after week trying to get me to 'come home', whatever that means, but where have you been? Oh, I remember..." she placed her hand on the belt that the Undertaker had around his waste. "You've been chasing after this; this belt that you don't deserve. This belt, what this championship represents, belongs around the waste of my Lord and Master...but let's forget that and focus on this spell that I must be under. You're my father, you claim you love me...if I'm under this spell, why are you more focused on beating the Undertaker than getting me back safe and sound?"

Austin made to answer, but Jaina put a strict hand up, effectively silencing him. "Shut up. I don't want to hear it. The fact of the matter is that you care more about this piece of gold than you do your own family, and the reason you're not out here like Shane is ever week asking me to come home, is because one, you know I make all of my own decisions, and two, you just don't give a damn." Her eyes flashed as she stepped up to her father, very much in his face, and she was enjoying the look of shock and confusion in his eyes. "You are focused more on this belt than you are on me because you know I have made up my own mind. I stand beside The Undertaker and serve him in any manner that he wishes, and if you try to take away that which is rightfully his-"

With stunning speed, accuracy, and strength, she delivered a stinging slap to the face her father, and the crowd reacting with a surge of cries. But it that didn't stop Jaina from finishing the rest of her speech. "If you try to take from him that which he owns, it won't be him that rains down the fires of hell on you, it will be _me_." With that, she stepped back, a sadistic grin on her face, and handed the microphone off to Vince McMahon.

"You know Austin, ever since my wife made you the new CEO of this company, you have been sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. You've made matches with championship implications, you've tried to destroy me physically and mentally..." he glanced at his son, "you've even tried to corrupt the mind of my son, Shane. But all that is gonna end this Sunday, Stone Cold, because when you compete against The Undertaker for the WWF championship, you will also be fighting to save your status here in the WWF. Your match is no longer just a fight for the title, but it is also a Pink Slip on a Pole match." Vince paused for a moment to let the boo's die down from the fans. "No, you won't lose your job if you lose the match, but you will lose your title of CEO, as well as any chance of a title shot ever again."

Austin shook his head in disbelief, still stunned from the slap he'd received from his own daughter. For the moment though, Vince was done with Austin as he turned his attention to Shane. "I seem to recall you saying that you have a little idea, a bit of a proposal for me, and I've got to tell you, I'm dying to hear what you have to say. Let's see if your idea's measure up this time, Shane, let's see if you can actually step up to the plate and follow through."

"Oh, I can follow through, Vinnie-mac, there is no doubt about that, the question is whether or not you have the...what's that phrase you like to use so much, oh yes, the testicular fortitude, to agree to this match that I have planned." Shane grinned as he watched the eyebrows of his father raise on his head. "Oh yea, you see, Jaina, you can say all you want that you're not under a spell, you can preach to heaven that you are willfully with the Undertaker and that you want to serve him, but I know better. And the reason I know better is because I saw it in your eyes last week, just before you hit me. I saw the hesitation, the confusion, even the pain that flashed through your eyes. It wasn't even a second long, but it was there."

Jaina shook her head, staring Shane down. "What do I have to do to make you realize that I want to be with him?!" she yelled, the mic catching some of her words.

"You don't have to do anything, Jaina. You don't have to do anything because I know it's not really you, and that's how I came up with this match. Dad," Shane stepped up to his father, "since it was you who made the match where Jaina and I fought each other to see which one of us would serve the Ministry, I think it's only fitting that I make a match between you and me."

"A match...between you and me, you want to fight me, Shane? You really think you can beat me?" Vince laughed. "Okay, let's hear the stipulation, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll agree to it."

"Oh, what's the matter, Vince?" Shane poked his father in the shoulder, taunting him. "It's not like you to want to hear what's on the line before you accept a match. Are you afraid I'll beat you? Is that it? Where are those grape fruits at Vince, huh?" Shane was all but touching noses with his father by this point, pushing Vince into a position that he didn't want to be in. But sure enough, to prove his metal, Vince shoved back, growling into the microphone. "Alright! You've got your match! Now, what do you want?"

"What I want," Shane glared at his father, then slowly looked over towards Jaina, who inched closer to her 'husband'. "What I want, is Jaina's freedom, and this is how it's gonna go down Vinnie-mac, it's real simple. I win, she goes free. I lose..." he swallowed, knowing that he had to force the next words out of his mouth, "I lose, you get what you wanted all along. You get me. I do whatever you want, I work for you, I do whatever you tell me to do."

"No!" Jaina stamped her foot down, glaring at The Undertaker and Vince. "No, no, no!" This outburst prompted The Undertaker to the mic from Vince. "Relax, my dear. No one will be taking you. As you said, you're here of your own free will. I've done nothing to keep you here, in fact, if you wanted, you could leave right now, and I wouldn't stop you."

"I don't want to leave you!" Jaina shook her head, wrapping her arms around the waste of the Phenom. "I want to stay right here, right where I belong, by your side!"

"Well, she might be saying that now," Shane nodded his head, glaring at Vince, "but you know and I know, that when I beat you this Sunday at King of the Ring, she's going to be singing a different tune, because when I beat you, _Vince_, any spell, any mystical control that the Undertaker has over her will immediately and without fail dissipate. And I can only hope that when she's freed from him, she returns to the Jaina Austin that I...that I came to know, and respect." Shane hoped that he had covered his slight falter from his father, but Vince was the ultimate business man, he knew when something was being kept from him or hidden from him, and he took the mic back from The Undertaker.

"You know, I had a feeling that there was more behind your little stipulation than met the eye, in fact, I know not only myself, but a lot of people in the back, in the locker room, have been having questions about the nature of your relationship with Jaina Austin. And just...just let me say this; if it will punish you for turning on me, for not being there for your father, it will eat you alive to know that this woman is with The Undertaker because she doesn't want to be with you...then I will be all to happy to agree to your stipulations, beat you at King of the Ring, and watch you have to align yourself with me and at the same time, live with the fact that you can't have the woman you want. That will be just fine with me!"

With that, the Corporate Ministry's theme hit, and both Shane and Steve Austin watched one more time, as Jaina, with a curt nod and twisted smile to both of them, followed obediently behind The Undertaker and Vince McMahon.

"So, I guess I'm gonna take care of The Undertaker, and you're gonna take care of your old man, it don't matter to ole Stone Cold how it goes down, but you can mark my words on this Shane. I don't care what happens, I don't give a damn how your match goes, how my match goes, but at King of the Ring, my daughter comes back home." Shane nodded in understanding, glancing between Steve and the ramp as he saw the last bit of Jaina walk behind the curtain. "If you can do that, then maybe, just maybe you can gain an ounce of respect from Stone Cold Steve Austin, but I swear on my daughters life, if this is you and your old man tryin' to screw me over, I will personally rip you a new asshole, and that's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so!"


	10. King of Hearts

1A/N: So, this is the end of the first SAGA if you will. I will be doing these stories in novels/saga schemes. The next one will begin about a month or two before Armageddon 1999. I'll have a lot of fun sticking Jaina in that time line and messing up all kinds of shit. For now, for those of you who have read, keep reading, and for those of you who have not reviewed...I know you haven't...I have wonderful stats that are telling me you haven't reviewed, and I LOVE reviews!

So. Review. :)

**WWF**

"Alright everyone, good job tonight, good job, let's get everything cleaned up!" Vince gave his back stage crew a round of applause as he came through the curtain of the gorilla, Jaina and Mark not far behind him. After answering a few questions from his stage manager, the chairman glanced behind him. "I think you're the only person on the face of the planet that can get away with slapping Stone Cold Steve Austin." He clapped her on the back before moving off to tend to other business.

"Where'd ya come up with the voice?"

Jaina shrugged. "You have a kind of demonic tone when you speak, so I figured I should have something to match it. I figured it would kind of show how far gone I was." She glanced up at him. "You didn't like it?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what?"

"Well..." Mark thought about his words carefully, "to be honest with ya...it was a little creepy."

Jaina was still laughing when Steve and Shane made their way back stage. "Jaina, what the hell was that out there?" Steve demanded, his hands on his hips. The area around the foursome fell silent, not even the crew members made a sound as father and daughter stared at each other. "Hey, I slapped you as hard as I could, Dad, I swear!" Jaina held up her hands in defense. She honestly had hit him as hard as her muscles allowed. She couldn't figure out what had her fathers trucks in such a bunch.

"I ain't talkin' about the slap, the slap was fine. I'm talkin' about that damn satanic voice you pulled out there in the ring! I never even knew you could sound like that, what, were you given her lessons?" He looked pointedly at Calaway as he swung an arm over his daughters shoulder.

"Hey, she came up with that on her own, I didn't have a thing to do with it," Mark shrugged himself out of his druids cape and folded it over his arm. "I'm goin' back to the hotel, I'm sittin' in that restaurant, and I'm gonna have a few beers. Anybody else game?"

**WWF**

Stephanie was one of the first to make it back to the hotel. As she'd had only one on screen performance that night, she decided to beat the rush out of the arena parking lot, and after getting the permission she needed from her father, she'd packed up the work she needed to take with her and headed on back to her suite for a night of creative writing, editing, and story line grooming.

Getting out of her rental car, she opened up the back door and retrieved her conference books, note books, and folders that she needed and locked up the vehicle, heading into the Columbus Renaissance.

"Hey, wait up!"

Frowning, Stephanie turned around, vaguely recognizing the voice but not remembering where she'd heard it. So, it was a mild surprise when she saw none other than Lauren McCabe heading her direction, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Stephanie growled out. She hated that woman with all her heart after what she'd done to Shane, and what she was now trying to do with the WWF. It gave her a mild amount of satisfaction to see Lauren slow down from her brusque pace, and to actually witness a certain amount of trepidation flash on the woman's features. Stephanie was not the sweet flower that Lauren had known almost two years ago. She'd grown more assertive, more confident of herself, and she was certainly no push over anymore.

"Hey, I'm just here to talk, Steph," Lauren assured her, "can I help you with any that?"

"And let you get a look at confidential files?" Stephanie sniffed, "I don't think so." She turned to leave, but heard Lauren rush up to her. "Hey, I saw your show tonight. Live as a matter of fact."

"Yea? Don't people usually go home after they see a live show?"

"Oh come on, Stephanie, we used to be like sisters, you and I."

Stephanie stopped and turned toward Lauren, amazement on her face. "We were nothing of the kind, Lauren. I only have one sibling, or did you forget that you mowed over his heart when you cheated on him with Bischoff?" She took a look around the parking lot area. "Where is the little sleaze ball anyway?"

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about," Lauren warned, stepping closer to the youngest McMahon.

"How did you even_ find_ me?" Stephanie continued, not backing down from her current position. "You visit Shane, then you stalk me down, what's next? Bursting in on one of my fathers board meetings?"

"Not such a bad idea, now that you mention it."

"Good luck getting past security," Stephanie was positively snarling by this point and nearly shaking with anger. She was so pissed off she couldn't even see straight. "Look, I don't even care how you found me or why you followed me. All I know is that from this point, at least in our private lives, my family is going to be safe from your little 'drop-ins'."

Laurens answer was as dry as the Sahara. "Imagine my sorrow. What's it going to be this time, Stephanie? A private security detail for you and Shane? Enforced police presence at all the arenas?" She tossed her hair over her shoulder and laughed gayly. "Look, I don't know why you're getting so bent out of shape. I simply came over to say hello and to deliver a message."

"Then deliver it and get the hell out of here."

**WWF**

The party down in the hotel restaurant was in full swing by the time Stephanie arrived, having taken a shower and changed her clothes after her encounter with Lauren McCabe. After having tried her fathers hotel room and not finding him there, she decided to try the restaurant, knowing that at least Shane would be there. She stood at the door for a moment, seeking him out, and when she found him, Stephanie made a bee-line for him.

"Hey, Shane."

Her brother turned around, acknowledging her. "Hey little, Sis. You're not usually down here for these things."

"Yea, well..." Stephanie trailed off, and immediately, Shane could tell something was up. Something was always up when his sister couldn't make eye contact with him. "What's wrong?"

"Lemme talk to you over here," Stephanie guided her brother away from Jaina, who nodded at both McMahons before turning her attention to Hunter, Shawn, Mark, and a few of the other wrestlers gathered around a table having a beer.

"Steph, what's up?" Shane was more serious now.

"Lauren McCabe."

Shane's eyebrows nearly rose up off his head. "What about her?"

"She paid me a visit earlier tonight," Stephanie placed a hand on her brothers arm as soon as she saw his eyes start to smoulder. "She didn't really do anything to me, she was just a bitch as always, that's all, but she did give me a message that she wanted to pass on to you." Her brother waited quietly for her to give him his ex-fiance's communication.

"She said that she has something up her sleeve, and you're going to find out about it first hand at their next pay per view." She shrugged her shoulders when Shane flexed his hands, asking silently if that was it. "That was all she told me." As she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jaina making her way towards her. "Everything okay?" the other brunette asked when she reached them.

"Nope," Shane punched the wall lightly a few times and wiped his hand over his mouth, his temper threatening to over flow. Now Lauren was cornering his baby sister? How low could the woman stoop? "I'm sorry, Jaina, I have to go to work right now. Steph'll fill you in." With that, he kissed his sister on her forehead, giving her an extra hug because he knew she was just as furious as he at the moment, and gave Jaina a light peck on the lips. Without stopping to say good night to anyone, he stormed out of the restaurant, in search of his father.

"What the Hell?" Jaina's alarmed voice sounded in the small area Stephanie and Shane had confiscated as their own. In actuality, a few heads had turned towards the women, including Steve Austin's, Dwayne Johnson's, and Mark Calaway's. Stephanie just shrugged. "I honestly don't even know myself, Jaina. I got a surprise visit from Lauren McCabe-"

"That bitch again!?" Jaina now shrieked, and anyone who wasn't looking at the pair was staring at them now. Stephanie visibly winced at the loud voice and mouthed an apology to everyone who was looking at them now.

"What's goin' on?" Shawn Michael's voice chirped out of the silence, and both Stephanie and Jaina could see the intrigued, curious, and worried faces about the room.

"Some how, Lauren McCabe was able to follow me from the arena back to the hotel tonight-no, I don't know how she did it, she didn't bother to tell me, she never tells anyone her little secrets-but she told me she had a message for my father."

"What was that?" Paul asked, concern showing on his face for the young woman.

"Apparently she has something pretty major up her sleeve and that the WWF is going to find out about it at their next pay per view." The young woman shrugged her shoulders, hearing the obvious questions such as 'what could she possibly have under her sleeve'? "We don't know what she has planned, we don't know what it had to do with us...that was all she told me."

"At the Great American Bash?" Matt Hardy spoke now, looking at his brother, Jeff, "that's a week after King of the Ring; ten days from now." The air in the restaurant had changed dramatically in the past two minutes or so. It was now quiet and tension filled. Worry was emanating from all the wrestlers as they whispered amongst themselves.

What in the world was WCW planning?

**WWF**

"Shane?" Jaina opened the door of the suite slowly into a dimly lit room, and she could already tell that Shane was either there, or had at least been there. She looked around the floor at the clothes that had been thrown haphazardly around in frustration and stepped inside silently, shutting the door. Dropping down to pick up a shirt, she heard the creek of a bed and a sorrowful sigh, and stood up, now seeing the figure sitting on the mattress, head in his hands. "Shane..." Jaina whispered, sympathy lacing his name as she made her way forward, stopping to stand in front of him.

"What does she want from me?" she heard him ask, a note of defeat in his voice. "What could I have possibly done to make her want to ruin me and my family?" And then, Jaina heard him make the most heart wrenching sound she'd ever heard. Shane McMahon, one of the biggest alpha males that she'd ever met...sniffed.

Shane was crying.

"I mean, really, I want to know!" Shane stood up, nearly knocking Jaina over. "I did everything I could for her! I called her, I sent her post cards on especially long trips, I brought her back gifts from the different cities I'd been to, hell, if I had even one single day off, I'd fly to where ever she was and spend 12 hours with her, _just_ so that we'd have one day a week together, even if it wasn't a full 24 hours."

Jaina remained where she was, watching Shane pace in front of her, occasionally wiping away from his cheeks the evidence of anger until he finally stopped, facing away from her towards the patio of their hotel room. "I've been over it a thousand times in my head. Where did I screw up?"

"You didn't," Jaina answered softly, still having not moved from her position, "she did. Lauren is fucked up in the head, Shane, and you didn't do anything to make her that way. She came like that, signed, sealed, and delivered." She moved up behind him, wrapping steady arms around his waste and rested her cheek against his back. "She was going to screw you over no matter what, Shane. That's what she's good at. Don't waste your time on her!"

"I have to waste my time on her, Jaina, because she sought out my sister, and now she's got something up her sleeve for WCW, and I know...I know it's something right under my nose, and I just can't place it!"

"You will."

"What, when she announces it on Nitro?!" Shane stepped out of her arms and turned around, facing his girlfriend for the first time since she entered the room. Jaina pursed her lips; she didn't have anything to say to that, and she was beginning to get an idea of just how ignorant to the world of wrestling she was, and how serious the Monday Night Wars were becoming.

The cocky, arrogant, confident persona that all the superstars and the McMahon family had on the shows and in the public eye, Jaina realized, were not quite genuine. If they were, Shane wouldn't be up in his hotel room tearing his hair out about some woman and what she was planning to do on her own show, and Vince McMahon wouldn't have his lawyers going over every single one of the superstars contracts and calling their top people so as to shore up their positions on various things. And she came to another realization, one that surprised her, but didn't shatter her.

There was nothing she could do here. There was nothing she could do for Shane, or the company, against Lauren McCabe or WCW. She was to new to the business, and even though being the daughter of Stone Cold Steve Austin had afforded her a front row seat to more of the wrestling business than most of the public got to see, definitely being a witness in the day to day running of it and dating the boss's son had allowed her to see things in a new light. And one of those things was that sometimes, she had to take a step back and let Shane do what he needed to do.

So, she shook her head and turned away, heading for the restroom and closing the door softly behind her, leaving Shane to stand in the bed room of their hotel suite, hands on his hips, a look of defeat on his face.

**WWF**

The next few days before King of the Ring were very stress filled ones for Jaina. She wasn't sure if she should call Shane, though he'd called a few times to check on her and say hello. But things were awkward on the phone with him. The last night they'd been together, Jaina had gone into the bathroom to take a shower, and by the time she came back out, Shane was already in bed, seemingly asleep. In truth, Jaina knew he was awake, but she wasn't going to pester him. If he wanted to pretend to be sleeping, then let him. She wouldn't chase after him like a school girl. She was his girl friend, not a lost puppy. So, she'd simply kissed him on the forehead and fell asleep herself.

Even the next morning was slightly tense. Shane didn't want to talk, and Jaina didn't want to make him, so getting ready to go to the airport was a dull affair, the ride to the airport was quiet, and leaving each other to get on separate planes to separate cities was harder than it normally was because neither of them knew how to say good bye that day. So they'd simply parted with a bitter sweet kiss and went about their ways, landing in their separate planes and arriving at their separate houses.

Jaina had about a day and a half to rest, and she took it. She had the house to herself, as her father was still out of town for interviews and appearances. Jaina hadn't been scheduled for any, and neither had Shane, as the WWF was playing up the match between the Undertaker and Stone Cold as their main event.

36 hours until she was back on a plane. 36 hours until she was back in Shane's arms, and oh how she missed them. She wasn't sure what sparked the tension between them. But she thought back to that Thursday night after Smackdown! in their hotel room, and she blamed herself for it all. Even though she'd come to the realization that there wasn't much she could do for her boyfriend on the business side of things, that didn't mean that there wasn't anything that she could do for him emotionally.

Ergo, walking to the bathroom to take a shower was probably not the best move that could have been made. There was probably a better route that could have been taken.

As Jaina turned out the light in her bedroom, looking at her cell phone for the umpteenth time that day, having talked to Shane twice and only for a few minutes each time to tell him that she'd gotten home safely. Likewise, he called her when he finally got home from the office to tell her that he'd gotten home alright and to wish her a good night. Again, the call had ended awkwardly just a few minutes ago. Jaina frowned to herself as she rolled over.

What was wrong with them? Surely some little bitch like Lauren and what she had planned for the WCW couldn't be all that was on Shane's mind.

_I'll talk to him about it tomorrow_, she resolved to herself as she closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

**WWF**

In a word, Shane was miserable. He felt like a complete ass. If his father were there right now, he'd tell Shane to stand up like a man and go apologize for being the complete jerk that he'd been to his girlfriend for the past day and a half, especially knowing that Jaina had done nothing wrong. But no; Shane was sitting in his suite, looking at mind numbing paper work, at the same time, watching a tape of the last Smackdown! to refresh his memory on everything that was said and done within his storyline. But try as he might, he couldn't get passed the weird feeling....just that weird, nagging feeling that had followed him since he'd left Jaina in the airport the previous day.

He'd taken his anger out on her, he'd treated her like dirt, his ex-girlfriend being the ring leader of the WCW crew was not helping matters much, and to top it all off, said ex-girlfriend had basically stalked Stephanie in the parking lot to tell her that she had something big going down with WCW, and there wouldn't be a damn thing that the WWF could do about it.

And he'd taken it all out on Jaina. God, what must she think of him? He kept talking about Lauren, everything led back to Lauren. If he kept acting this way, Jaina was going to think that he wasn't over that woman and what she did to him, and he'd be finding himself on the nasty end of a break up.

Shane didn't want that, he didn't want that by a long shot, that was not how he wanted his relationship with Jaina to turn out.

A jingle from his phone caught his attention and Shane looked at it dumbly before taking it in his hand and flipping it open. "Hello."

"Hey."

"Jay!" Shane had never been more relieved to hear his girlfriends voice in his life. "Hey, are you here?"

"Well, I'm...I'm at the airport, but there seems to be a bit of trouble getting the luggage. We've been waiting for about 15 minutes now and they still haven't sent the bags out yet." In the background, Shane could hear the various sounds of Logan International Airport; people talking, luggage rolling, children screaming, the intercom going off...

"Shane!"

"Yea, yea, sorry," Shane looked at his watch, "hey look, um...I'm gonna come get you, okay?"

A pause.

"Are you sure? I'm sure it won't take much longer, I'd hate to drag you out here for nothing when I can just take a cab."

"No girlfriend of mine will be taking any cabs when her boyfriend is a few miles away with a rental car." Shane stood up, grabbing his wallet and the hotel keycard, switching the phone to his other hand. "I'll be there in about ten minutes. I'll meet you inside." With that, he flipped his phone shut and left his room, the door slamming behind him.

**WWF**

Jaina pulled her baseball cap lower on her head and turned her back as she caught sight of a 30 something male, a camera slung around his neck, bandana covering his hair, and that searching expression on his face. One thing that she'd learned with the last pay per view event she'd been a part of was that the paparazzi liked to stake out all the airports and rental car/dealerships the day before and the morning of the event. Her first brush with 'photographers' had been when she'd stayed with Shane in his New York condo. It hadn't been that bad of an experience, but just the idea of someone standing around, waiting for her, her father, and her co-workers made her uneasy.

The longer she had to stay by the conveyer belt, the more nervous she got. If there was one of them here, there was no reason to believe that there wasn't more than one. The last thing she wanted or needed right now was get jumped by an over zealous 'media' type who wouldn't let her walk a straight line out the door.

As she glanced up, she saw a familiar brown haired head making it's way towards her, and as he got closer, kind, brown eyes searching for her, and an expression that hinted at eagerness to find her. Jaina grinned in spite of herself as she raised her hand in the air to signal Shane over.

That was the man she remembered.

When he reached her, Shane scooped her up in his arms, twirling her around in a hug. "I was an ass the other night," he murmured in her ear, kissing her just underneath the lobe as he finally set her back down, "I'm sorry."

His apology was more than accepted as she kissed him fully on his lips, long and languidly, forgetting all the people around watching them. Her attention was held only by Shane at the moment, and after she was finished 'accepting' his remorse, she pulled back and searched his eyes. He was still tense, still worried and apprehensive, still on edge, but he wasn't frustrated, he didn't look stressed. Rationality had taken control again, and when business was concerned, rationality was the best policy.

"Your flight was okay?" Shane tapped at her baseball cap affectionately, admiring her secretly. Jaina was basically dressed in pajama's; sweat pants, stylish as they were, with sneakers, a small, plain white shirt, and a light jacket covering her torso, but she was still beautiful to him.

Jaina grinned. "It was alright. There was a layover in Tennessee for about a half hour, but other than that..." she coasted her hand out in front of her, "smooth sailing all the way."

Shane raised his eyebrows. "Sailing? What plane were you flying in?"

"Funny boy," Jaina muttered, just before the conveyer belt started and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God, now we can finally get out of here. Oh, by the way," Jaina looked around inconspicuously for the man she figured for a photographer, "I'm pretty sure I caught a few of the print media stalking around in here."

"That's okay. We won't be around long enough for them to bother us," and as Shane spoke, he grabbed what he knew was Jaina's bags by heart and shouldered one of them, "ready to go? Ah, ah, ah!" He pulled away when she tried to take one of her bags to help him. "I've been a jerk, I'm carrying your bags. End of story."

"Well then, feel free to be a jerk more often!" Jaina stood on her tip toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, wrapping her arm around his as they began to walk out of the airport. But they stopped short as a camera flash went off in front of them, and they had to stop momentarily to gather their bearings once more as a second and third flash went off as well.

"Hey guys, how are you doing? Ready for King of the Ring tonight?"

"How long have you and Jaina been dating?"

The questions came from three photographers that had been staking out baggage area, and none of them were the paparazzo that Jaina had seen. He must have been some kind of signal to his buddies when someone famous came through from the terminal. No matter; Shane and Jaina simply ignored their questions about their relationship and focused on getting to Shane's rental car, thankful that no more photographers came out of the woodwork to bother them. Being the gentleman that Shane was, he first put Jaina's luggage into the trunk of the car, then, walked Jaina over to the passenger side and let her in, motioning for her to lock the door after her.

"Sorry guys, we've got to get going now," Shane pushed through the remaining three photographers to his side of the car and opened the driver side door, slipping in without answering any more questions and turned on the car. "You alright?"

"Yea, I'm fine," Jaina nodded, looking around the outside of the car, making sure that Shane didn't run over any of the paparazzi, though she sincerely doubted that he would shed a tear if he did, "sorry you had to deal with that." Shane shrugged it off. It wasn't that it was a normal occurrence for him, but all the wrestlers and performers of the WWF knew when it came time for the pay per view shows to expect a little more press exposure in the tabloids. "More concerned about you dealing with it," he answered back, turning out of the airport parking lot and beginning the long road back towards civilization, "I live in New York, so I'm all over the place there, and the Post know's it, but-"

"I'm fine, Shane. I promise." Jaina looked out the window as he drove, taking in the sights of Boston as they flew down the highway towards the hotel they were staying at. "Is anyone else here yet?"

Shane shook his head. "Dad's not coming in until tomorrow, Stephanie's flying in with him, so is mom...most of the superstars won't show up until later tonight or early tomorrow morning."

"So we have the night to ourselves then?"

Shane chuckled, making a turn onto another street. "I have a few phone conferences with Dad and Mom, also with the administrators of the Fleet Center, I need to talk to Mark before I go to sleep..." he stole a glance at Jaina, whose eyebrow was slightly arched in an amused way, "but sure, after all that, we can have the night to ourselves."

Jaina grinned, settling back into the chair for the rest of the few minutes that they were in the car.

"Good."

**WWF**

Sunday morning arrived with a flurry of activity. From 8am and on, it was non stop for everyone involved in that nights pay per view of King of the Ring. The ring crew was well on their way to setting up the announcers table, the squared circle, ramps, sets, and pyrotechnics that would shoot into the air through out the night, no more so than through the King of the Ring tournament. The gorilla position was being set up as Shane and Jaina arrived through the loading dock doors, stopping first to put their things away in the stow away room. Then, the two split; Shane to meet with this father and go over the final scripts, which, if Shane knew Vince, the man was rewriting some of the script already, always vying for perfection in his shows.

The run sheet was something else that was being reworked. Originally, Vince had wanted the main event to be the actual final chapter of the King of the Ring tournament. But now, he was looking to schedule that just before his and Shane's match, after which, the main event would be The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin's Pink Slip on the Pole match. All in all, as Shane walked through the halls, thinking to himself, he knew his father would be counting himself lucky, as always, if he got everything done by the 7pm start time.

But they always did, and it always turned out perfectly, and there was no reason for the McMahons' to think otherwise this time.

_**WWF**_

Steve Austin sat in his locker room, hunched over, watching the monitor in front of him. This was the night; the night where either he would be the champion again and keep his CEO job, or lose the CEO position and never receive a title shot again from Vince McMahon. He smirked as he laced up his boots. He didn't have the match for another hour yet, but it never hurt to be prepared, not in this business.

As he leaned forward and began filtering the shoe laces in between the loops, he heard the door open softly and close just as though it had never been opened.

"Hello, Father."

Jaina walked around her father sitting form, glaring at him from her position above him. He really was pathetic...sitting in here by himself, staring at a television monitor, waiting for a match that he was going to lose badly.

"Are you preparing yourself for your defeat? You know my Lord is going to beat you senseless...and after he's finished, he'll be able to sacrifice your soul fully. That is going to be a pleasure to watch, I must say."

"Jaina, get out of here before I take you over my knee," Austin growled, looking up at her. He was most definitely not enjoying her presence, nor the outfit that she was wearing. The tight, black halter top with the shortest skirt he'd ever seen and knee high boots were not becoming on his little girl. But as of right now, this was not his daughter; not as he knew her anyways. The black lines encircling her eyes, the blood red lipstick that painted her mouth, her white as snow face...that was nothing like his daughter. Evil had taken her fully now; there wouldn't be anything that could ever tell him differently.

"You've never hit me before, Father. I don't believe you'll do so now. But it's not because you can't. It's because you don't care enough to waste that amount of physical energy on me. You never have, you certainly haven't while I've been with the Undertaker, you never will."

"You're going to lose tonight, Father," Jaina headed towards the door, a bored look on her face as her father didn't even bother to see her out, "you're going to lose badly. And then, my Lords title will be secured, I will continue to stand by his side...and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

Austin stood up. "What about Shane?"

"What about him?" she sniffed.

"Could Shane do something about it?"

"That little pipsqueak?" Jaina laughed, swiveling around once more to face Steve. "He's cute and everything...but no where near the man that the Undertaker is. Besides, why do you care if Shane had the authority to "bring me back"," she placed her words in quotation marks before settling her hands on her hips, glaring at her father, daring him to speak against her, "don't you hate him? Don't you despise him? Just because of his last name? Or are you realizing that there are some things that you simply can't do, that aren't within your power....why, are you putting faith and trust in Shane McMahon that he may be able to bring me back to the light?"

"What if I was?"

"Then you're a fool," her eyes narrowed, and Steve had no doubt that this woman standing in front of him meant every word that she said, "if I wanted to go to the light, I would, but I don't. My life before now has been so un-fulfilling. But Taker...he took me, showed me what the world should be like, where my place was. And it wasn't with Shane. Or you. It was with him. And I would very much suggest that you and everyone else get used to that fact!" With that, she slammed the door behind her, leaving Austin looking very confused, very pissed, and, for those watching closely...the lines of sadness around his eyes began to seep through.

_**WWF**_

Triple H was the King of the Ring. He'd beaten the Rock, beaten everyone in the tournament. He was the absolute best, he knew it. Sure, Taker and Austin hadn't been involved in the matches; they had their own little thing going on, but Hunter knew that if those two had been in the tournament, he'd have kicked their ass's just the same.

Simply put, no matter what Vince said, no matter what anyone said, Hunter was number one.

Period.

Now, it was time to take his place at the top of the WWF. He was going to get everyone's respect, including Vince McMahons. Especially Vince McMahons. If he could earn it, that would be great. But if he had to take it, that'd be fine too.

_**WWF**_

Austin was already in the ring, pacing it, watching the entrance ramp for his opponent. When the lights blinked out, and the whole arena was plunged into total darkness, Steve stopped and stood in the middle of the ring, his back to the pole that held his destiny high above on a pink piece of paper. All he had to do was get to that paper, rip it off, and he'd be secure in his CEO title.

But as he watched the Undertaker walk out to the ring, his eyes drifted to the young woman walking along side him, and Steve actually heard his mind sending up a silent prayer for Shane to get the job done tonight. And unfortunately, that was all the time for thinking about his little girl that he had, because once the Undertaker finished raising the lights and taking off his leather cloak, he locked his dark eyes on Austin.

It was on from there.

_**WWF**_

Jaina watched from her position at ringside. She couldn't interfere, not because the referee had told her not to, but because her Master had specifically forbade it before she'd walked out with him. It wasn't that she didn't think that the Undertaker could beat her father; she knew he could. She just wanted to help him. She wanted to be in on his destruction, on his glorious fall. She wanted to be a part of that.

But as she watched the Undertaker clothesline the bald man down to the mat, a fleeting thought ran through her mind.

Where had she drummed up all this animosity from for her father.

_It doesn't matter_, she though, answering the question in her mind, _Taker would never lie to me. His words are truth_.

**Then why is your father so adamant on getting you back?**

_He's not._

_**And Shane?**_

Jaina didn't have an answer for that one. He shouldn't have a reason. Jaina barely knew him. Perhaps that was her answer. Shane was chasing after something that was not there.

But as the Undertaker piledrove her father into the mat, stalked over to the corner, climbed the turnbuckle, and took the pink slip from it's resting place on the pole, and as Jaina beat her hands together in victory and triumph, her heart knew her minds lie.

_**WWF**_

"Shane, please don't do this!" Stephanie frantically paced at her brothers heels as he headed for the gorilla position, awaiting his music. Originally, she'd accepted the match, but the closer and closer it came to the event actually happening, the more her stomach became sour with fear. She'd never seen her father and brother wrestle, and she knew that with the aggression and anger Shane had bottled up inside of him, this was not going to be a match; this was going to be a fight, a street fight, if Shane got his way.

"Shane, please, I'm begging you! The girl's told you herself, she wants to be with Mark, let her be with him!"

"Stephanie!" Shane rounded on his sister, his irritation beginning to show through. "I am not going to lose her to that man! Is that what you wanted me to do for you? To just up and say, "well, Undertaker's got her now, if she can't get free by herself, let her stay with him'?"

He could tell immediately by the look on her face that he'd gone to far with that comment. Her big blue eyes looked ready to fill with tears at any moment. So, Shane sighed and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down, for Stephanie's sake, if for no one elses. "Look, Steph," he placed his hands on her shoulder, "I know you're scared, and I know I can't explain why I feel the way I do. But Jaina and I....we just have this connection, and I know if Jaina were really 'there' right now, she wouldn't be doing what she's been doing for the past few weeks. I have to do this. I have to help her. I've gotta try." He smiled softly at her, knowing the look in her eyes as one of acceptance. She nodded slightly and gave her brother a hug, whispering that she loved him.

"Hey Shane?"

He turned around, just before his music went off, and she gave him a devious and classic McMahon grin. "I hope you win."

_**WWF**_

The trepidation was killing her. Jaina paced the back locker room, waiting for Taker to come out of his meditation and walk to the ring. She was nervous. Why was she nervous? She couldn't explain it, but ever since her masters match with her father, butterfly's had appeared in her stomach and had not released her.

Vince McMahon was fighting his own son tonight. That had nothing to do with her. Except, it did. If Shane won, she would be free.

_Free? What am I talking about, I _am _free. I made my decision to be with the Undertaker!_

_**Then why are you fretting about Shane being hurt and losing?**_

_I'm not!_

Jaina sank into one of the many chairs that were in the basement, hanging her head in her hands. Her mind kept screaming at her to let Shane take his beating, and that would be it...but her heart was telling her to cheer Shane on, and help him win.

"My dear, are you ready?"

Her head snapped up at Taker's voice, and she immediately plastered a smile on her face without even having to think about it. Accepting his arm, she stood up and obediently allowed him to lead her out to the ring where the match was already underway.

_**WWF**_

"You damn upstart!" Vince sent his son down to the mat again with a vicious upper cut. "I'll make you regret the day you ever defied me!"

Somewhere on the mat was Shane...at least that's what Shane thought. He was pretty sure he was still in the ring. As he crawled towards the side, his arm hit the ropes, and that was validation that yes, he was still in the ring. Unfortunately, his night was about to get a lot worse, because the reason for this match was heading down the ramp, and dammit, Jaina might not have been herself at the moment, but Shane couldn't help but stare at her.

She looked damn good.

The distraction cost him dearly, because he felt a swift kick in his ass, which sent him tumbling through the ropes. Of course, he landed directly in front of Jaina, the Undertaker coming up behind her slowly, a look of sadistic pleasure on his face. But as Shane stood up and got a good look at her, he realized that Jaina wasn't look at him with the same expression.

She was just regarding him. It was something about her eyes...it was like he could see the old Jaina somewhere.

But Shane didn't have much time to wonder as he heard Vince hop out of the ring behind him. Going on instinct, he whipped around and lashed out at his father with hard right hands, pushing him all the way back against the ring apron. Grabbing his arm, he flung his father towards the stairs, and Vince hit dead on, his arm smacking into the hard steel of the steps. He rolled off the structure, groaning in pain and holding his now injured arm as Shane capitalized, taking him by the head and throwing him back into the ring.

Now, Shane's fury was starting to rise. The beginning of the match had belonged to Vince, but now that he had seen Jaina, and could swear on a stack of bibles that there was still hope for her yet, Shane was revitalized. "Your ass is mine!" He yelled, lifting the man up and delivering hard right punches to his face before flinging him into the ropes and clotheslining him to the mat. A loud grunt of pain was his reward, but Shane wasn't finished yet. Stealing a look at Jaina, who was watching with rapt attention now, Shane dragged his father into the corner and sat him there. Vince was out cold, but even so, Shane knew he had to act fast. Sliding underneath the bottom rope, he ducked beneath the ring and fished around for his target.

He came up with a silver trash can.

The referee was no where to be found, having vacated the area some time ago, and with that in mind, Shane set to setting up the trash can right where he wanted it. As he climbed to the top of the parallel turn buckle though, he caught the Undertaker out of the corner of his eye coming up behind him, and as he braced himself to have to fight off the near seven food monster, what he saw happen instead both surprised him and filled him with hope.

Jaina stepped in the way. Just before she turned her body to block the Undertaker, Shane saw her eyes, and knew that the old Jaina was fighting her way to the surface, the old Jaina was starting to come out. Whether it was because she saw Shane fighting his father or if it was because the Undertaker was threatening to do some serious damage, he didn't know. All he knew was that Jaina had bought him the time he needed to go coast to coast with his father, and when his feet smacked into the trash can and his hip hit the mat, Shane knew it was over.

When the fans jumped to their feet as Austin ran out to the ring to handle the Undertaker, Shane knew he'd won. He heard the familiar screams of his sister...what was _she_ doing out here? And that's when he saw the referee sliding into the ring at Stephanie's behest. But the best sight was standing out by the ring apron next to the ramp.

Jaina.

And it was _Jaina_. Jaina Austin. Not the Undertakers lady, or the Queen of Darkness...it was Jaina Austin.

_His _Jaina. She was back. And as the third and final slap from the referee came down on the mat, Shane released the breath he didn't know he was holding and pushed himself off the mat, falling into the ropes. His father was laid out in the corner, out like a light, but that didn't concern Shane at the moment. All that he was worried about was standing right in front of him. Her attention was currently occupied by watching her father beat the living day lights out of the Undertaker, and Stephanie, who had been standing behind Jaina next to the turnbuckle on the left of the ramp had had enough sense to high tail it back up the ramp once the match was over. He half walked, half stumbled over to the ring ropes just above Jaina and watched with her as Austin and Taker continued to drag each other up the ramp, going blow for blow, hit for it.

_**WWF**_

_Crap! Shane! _ Jaina whirled around, taking her eyes off her father and Taker, and when she did, she was surprised to see Shane standing right above her, the trade mark cocky grin on his face as he looked down on her. With the fans cheering for the fight that was still continuing, Jaina made her way up the steel steps, and Shane immediately parted the ropes for her, wiping a hand through his hair.

She smiled at him, a ton wattage grin that could have lit the entire arena with no effort at all as she shook her head, unbelieving of what had happened the past few weeks. But now, it was awkward. She felt guilty, totally not herself for everything that happened, and as her hands brushed through her still dark brown hair, Shane could see the unsure expression on her face.

Well, he'd have to fix that.

If the fans were still watching Austin and the Undertaker, they were about to miss what everyone in the WWF had been saying was going on for a while now. Shane stepped up to Jaina, shook his head. "It's not your fault," he assured her, brushing her hair from her eyes, "not your fault at all."

Jaina nodded, but Shane could tell that she couldn't believe him...wouldn't believe him, as a matter of fact. She tried to pull away from him, turning her head, turning her feet as to walk away, but Shane wasn't having any of it. Instead of letting her go, he turned her back towards him.

"You're not going anywhere," he grinned, right before sealing his mouth over hers in front of an arena full of 20,000 fans, who seemed to get louder, if it was at all possible. Cat calls were flying, the applause was thunderous, and when Shane pulled away, it was as though the crowds hushed. Jaina face was one of shock, and for a moment, Shane wondered if he had been a bit over zealous.

But when her hands grazed his own face, and a shy smile snaked out, he knew it was okay, and was rewarded with a kiss back that was not tentative as the first one had been. This one was full of gratitude, passion, affection. Her arms wove tightly around Shane's neck as he picked her up, one arm holding her tightly, protectively to him while the other held her head.

As the crowd around them exploded they both released each others mouths and looked up, laughing, holding onto each other as Shane's music played for them, two triumphant winners in the ring, both finally having what they wanted after a month of turmoil and hell. It was heaven.

Pure and simple.


End file.
